LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, provided £180 million of investment to back eight new management teams and to support its portfolio companies in the first half of 2021.
The firm said its eight new investments demonstrated an ‘increasing appetite and ambition for growth’ amongst the management teams of UK mid-market businesses. Spanning a broad range of sectors and regions, investments included Bristol-based digital media group Hybrid, Southampton-based equestrian brand LeMieux and Rochdale-based Wireless CCTV, a market-leading supplier of surveillance solutions.
In the first half of 2021, LDC supported its portfolio companies in making a total of 36 acquisitions, including Midlands manufacturer Stuart Turner’s acquisition of Mikrofill, B2B telecoms provider Onecom’s acquisitions of 9 Group and Olive Communications, and sales and letting agency Lomond Group’s multiple acquisitions across the UK. .
The businesses exited so far this year, on average more than doubled revenues and grew their employee numbers by nearly 90 per cent during their partnership with LDC.
Toby Rougier, Chief Executive of LDC, says: “Since the onset of the pandemic, our teams have been focused heavily on the needs of our 90-strong portfolio, providing essential capital and expertise to support and position them for a post-Covid landscape. This included funding for a record number of acquisitions to expand scale and services. Now, as demand returns and the UK’s economy recovers, our portfolio is stabilised, strengthened and set for growth.”
