Birmingham office of LDC backs £175m secondary buyout deal
THE Birmingham office of mid-market private equity firm, LDC, has backed the £175m secondary buyout of courier business CitySprint.
CitySprint operates the UK’s largest privately-owned national delivery network with more than 3,000 couriers, 40 service centres and innovative technology solutions employed across a range of specialist sector products and services including; retail, pharmacy, pathology and auto parts same day logistics.
The transaction builds on the Surrey-based group’s position in the high growth, last mile retail and healthcare delivery sectors.
The investment also cements CitySprint’s first mover advantage in the £1.7bn same day market where it is the UK market leader. It also enables the company to accelerate the development of its innovative final mile delivery offering through its newly-created accelerator division, LastMileLink Technologies.
The investment was led by LDC Director Andy Lyndon and Investment Director, Matt Newbold who will both join the CitySprint board.
The company’s existing private equity backer, Dunedin, has retained an equity stake, while CitySprint’s management team led by CEO Patrick Gallagher holds a significant shareholding in the group.
Martin Draper, Co-Head and Chief Executive of LDC, said: “CitySprint’s highly experienced management team has built a clear leadership position in the market thanks to a compelling technology-enabled proposition and a commitment to outstanding service.
“With the additional backing of LDC, it now has an exciting opportunity to continue scaling its presence in the UK and investing further in its IT platform, bringing further innovation to the market in order to drive growth.
“This investment demonstrates LDC’s commitment to supporting the growth ambitions of UK based companies, leveraging our capital, strategic expertise and operational experience to help them create significant and sustainable value.”
LDC was advised on the deal by PwC, Hullbrook and Eversheds, while CitySprint was advised by Catalyst Corporate Finance and Squire Patton Boggs.
A banking syndicate comprising RBS, Clydesdale and HSBC provided debt facilities to support the transaction, with legal advice provided by DLA. Mike Barnes, from Wyvern was debt advisor to the company.
