Supporting Growth in Business Services

LDC has a proven track record of helping business services companies to grow through private equity. In the last decade we have made 30 business services investments, and the average revenue growth for our exited investments in the sector is 129%.

A private equity partnership can help business services management teams navigate key challenges – including how to stay competitive in an age of rapid digitalisation. Our experience of helping management teams to grow extends to supporting with a technology agenda – from integrating AI and automation tools, to embedding cloud-based infrastructure – helping to drive operational efficiencies, improve the financial performance of the business, and enhance customer experiences.

We see significant opportunities for growth across the sector – whether through expanding into new and international markets, creating a point of difference, or executing effective buy-and-build strategies. For example, Independent Governance Group (IGG), the UK’s leading provider of pensions trusteeship and governance services, grew revenues and headcount by more than 300% through an acquisitive growth strategy, backed by LDC.

The business services sector plays a vital role in the UK economy, and it’s one we know well. LDC has significant experience supporting businesses in sub sectors that specialise in facilities management, professional services, advisory & consultancy, human capital management, asset management & logistics, business process outsourcing, and financial services.

Recent sub sectors of focus include accountancy and legal services, energy transition and testing & compliance, as well as the built environment and infrastructure services.

Commonalities in these sectors are that businesses are often profitable and well run, operating in fragmented markets with opportunities for consolidation, and demand is growing thanks to regulatory changes making businesses – especially those with multiple service lines – resilient.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to a partnership with LDC – we work closely with management teams to understand the unique opportunities for each business. Our breadth and scale of experience in the sector means that we can offer a range of support to our portfolio companies.

As part of Lloyds Banking Group, we provide consistent funding without being tied to the typical fundraising cycles of many of our competitors. This means we can continue to invest capital into our portfolio during the lifetime of our partnership. Whether providing funding for organic initiatives and capital led expansion, or supporting our portfolio with acquisitions – identifying, funding and integrating them. We work in partnership with each individual management team.

We can also help management teams to underpin sustainable growth through continued commercial developments. This may include functional improvements across sales and marketing, operations and IT.