LDC Midlands team celebrates bumper year so far for deals

The Midlands team of mid-market private equity investor LDC is celebrating record year, having invested in four businesses with a combined enterprise value of almost £200m since the start of 2019.

The team has backed the management buyouts of the corporate apparel business of Tailored Brands, Inc, which includes Castle Donington-based Dimensions, in a deal that valued the group at £50m, and global corporate and financial communications specialist Instinctif Partners.

The deals marked the team’s third and fourth investments of the year it continues its support for the UK’s most ambitious management teams. They follow LDC’s partnerships with Chesterfield-based B2B car finance broker Evolution Funding and Nottingham-headquartered IT specialist Littlefish.

The transactions also cap off a record 12 months for the team following the exits of live entertainment business NEC Group, and fast-growing holiday park operator Away Resorts, with LDC maintaining a minority shareholding in both businesses to support their ongoing growth.

To support the Midlands team’s plan to invest locally, LDC has brought in three new hires. Investment Director Phil Hinson and Gary Ward, who leads the team’s business development activity, both joined earlier this year. The team’s newest recruit, Josh Wachman, will join from Smith Square Partners in November. The news follows the team’s summer move to its new offices in the heart of Birmingham’s business district at Cornerblock, 2 Cornwall Street.

Richard Whitwell, Head of LDC in the Midlands, said: “Management teams across the Midlands continue to show the confidence and ambition to succeed in an uncertain climate, and our activity proves that. We have £1.2bn to invest across the UK mid-market over the next three years, and we want a significant proportion of that to be invested right here in the Midlands.”