Sector

Pure Cottages Group is a collection of five luxury holiday rental agencies and was formerly known as Lakelovers.

Investment type
  • Management buyout
Exit type
  • Trade sale
Exit date

January 2020

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LDC’s investment and support gave us the confidence, expertise and financial firepower to pursue an ambitious acquisitive growth strategy.”

Paul Liddell, Founder and CEO
Pure Cottages Group

Expanding beyond the Lake District

Since securing the support of LDC, Paul and his team have capitalised on the growing trend for ‘staycations’ and launched an acquisition trail that has driven scale across the Pure Cottages Group portfolio. Our Value Creation Partners also worked closely with management to help optimise the group’s online presence and its own digital channels through a new digital transformation strategy which improved the online purchasing journey for customers and increased sales.

In 2017 Lakelovers managed 500 holiday properties in the Lake District. Today, Pure Cottages Group manages more than 1,500 holiday homes throughout Cumbria, Cornwall and the Cotswolds, having acquired Heart of the Lakes, Lake District Lodge Holidays, Character Cottages, John Bray Cornish Holidays and regional cleaning business, Maid in the Cotswolds, during its partnership with LDC.

In January 2020 Chester-based Sykes Holiday Cottages, the UK’s leading independent holiday home provider, announced it had agreed to acquire Pure Cottages Group.

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I met with 19 private equity houses and LDC stood out to me for various reasons that have over the last twelve months have come true. They ignited the thoughts of growth we had with spreading the brand we already had throughout the country.”

Paul Liddell, Founder and CEO
Pure Cottages Group

Paul Liddell talks about how private equity is supporting Pure Cottages Group’s acquisitive growth strategy