Comms Dealer - LDC

UBDS Group strikes LDC deal to fuel growth drive

Nikki Matthews — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:29:39 +0000

Posted onFriday, June 26, 2026 - 10:29

UBDS Group has secured investment from LDC as it pursues an ambitious organic and acquisitive growth strategy to add complementary capabilities and reach.

The company has scaled rapidly in recent years, and this growth has seen headcount increasing fivefold since 2022 and revenue rising by nearly 150% over the past three years.

Growth has been supported by the rising demand for digital transformation services and acquisitions including Rayo, and 3B Data Security in 2024.

LDC investment backs UBDS existing management team, led by CEO Alex Gore, which has been in place for over four years and has guided the business through a period of scaling and operational maturity.

As part of the transaction, Diptesh Patel, Founder of UBDS Group, will move to Non-Executive Director role, while experienced industry veteran Peter Sweetbaum has been appointed Chair.

LDC Partners Aylesh Patel and Chris Baker will join the board as Non-Executive Directors, reflecting the business’ active role in supporting the next phase of growth.

According to Alex Gore, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the partnership will enable the company to “accelerate organic growth and pursue targeted acquisitions”, while Founder Patel highlighted LDC’s alignment with the company’s long-term vision and market expertise.

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Aspire secures new funding to support ongoing M&A strategy

Nikki Matthews — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 12:13:28 +0000

Posted onWednesday, December 3, 2025 - 12:13

Aspire Technology Solutions has secured a new round of investment from private equity investor LDC alongside new minority co-investor Federated Hermes to accelerate the company’s expansion and support an ambitious acquisition strategy.

LDC has reinvested for a significant minority. In the three years since LDC’s original investment in 2022, Aspire has seen revenue rise by 158% and headcount increasing 55%, alongside expanding its UK reach and completing two strategic acquisitions.

This latest investment positions Aspire to accelerate its plans and advance toward its £100m revenue target for 2030.

The company has established itself as a key UK technology provider, with than 300 experts across its offices in Gateshead, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Stockton.

Aspire exceeded its £50m revenue milestone in the financial year to February 2025, two years ahead of plan, and now expects £71.2m revenue and £13.5m EBITDA in the current financial year, underlining the strength of its growth trajectory.

Aspire’s growth since LDC’s 2022 investment reflects both strong organic growth and notable M&A capabilities. The business has grown well beyond its north east roots, establishing a strong national footprint, with the acquisitions of Cloud Cover IT in 2023 and CloudCoCo last year, have added more than £10m in revenue and created new regional hubs that support further national scale.

The value of the business has risen from £85m in 2022 to £192m, growth that has been underpinned by continued investment in core infrastructure, including private cloud, network enhancement and AI powered tooling.

Chris Fraser, founder and CEO of Aspire said: “This investment marks an important new phase for Aspire. Our growth has always been driven by a clear focus on our customers and on delivering innovative solutions with exceptional service - that focus has set us apart and it remains the foundation of everything we do.”

“LDC has supported our ambition since 2022 and its continued partnership as a lead investor, now alongside Federated Hermes, gives us the platform to move forward with confidence. Our direction is clear, and we will continue to scale through sustained organic growth and customer focus. This investment enables us to further strengthen our capability and deliver across the UK.”

Gareth Marshall, Partner and Head of North East and Scotland at LDC added: “Since our initial investment, Aspire has more than doubled in size while successfully integrating two complementary acquisitions and maintaining the customer service standards that set them apart in the market.

“As lead investor, we’re continuing to support the team through this next phase. With Federated Hermes joining as a co-investor, Aspire has the platform to pursue both organic expansion and a more active M&A strategy in a market where demand for managed IT and cyber security services shows no sign of slowing.”

As part of the transaction, Tim Hipperson steps down as Non-Executive Chair after three years of significant contribution during Aspire’s first private equity phase, and David Murray will join Aspire as Non-Executive Chair.

Image shows (L-R): Gareth Marshall, Partner and Head of North East and Scotland at LDC and Chris Fraser, founder and CEO of Aspire

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LDC exits Kerv following successful three years

Greg — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 09:58:39 +0000

Posted onThursday, January 25, 2024 - 09:58

LDC has exited its investment in Kerv following a three-year partnership, that saw the cloud services provider grow five-fold from £20m to £100m.

As part of the transaction, Bridgepoint Development Capital has invested in Kerv for a majority shareholding and LDC has reinvested £30m to support the continued growth of the business.

LDC supported the creation of Kerv in July 2020 when it backed founders Alastair Mills and Mike Ing to merge three cloud-based managed services businesses. LDC invested £22m in the initial transaction and, over the course of the next three and a half years, provided £20m in follow on funding.

During these three years, Kerv’s EBITDA grew from £3m to nearly £20m and the company’s headcount from 100 to 700.

Founders Alastair Mills and Mike Ing, alongside the rest of the Kerv management team, will continue to lead the business, supported by Bridgepoint and LDC, and plans to continue its acquisition strategy.

Ing said “This significant milestone will enable us to continue to deliver on our mission to harness the power of technology for the good of our people, our customers, our society and our planet at even greater scale.”

Aylesh Patel, Partner and Head of South at LDC, added: “Alastair, Mike and the team brought together three complementary businesses at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and have created one of the fastest growing cloud and digital services providers in the UK.”

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LDC exits Littlefish as Bowmark steps in

Greg — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 13:07:28 +0000

Posted onFriday, August 26, 2022 - 14:07

LDC has exited its minority investment in Littlefish, to Bowmark Capital following a three-year partnership.

Since LDC initially gave its backing in April 2019, Littlefish has almost doubled revenues from £18.6m to £36.4m in its latest financial year. The managed IT and cyber services provider also opened a new office in Sheffield and more than doubled its headcount to employ over 450 people.

Littlefish developed its cyber security arm during the period, which has become its fastest-growing service line.

“Littlefish is a stellar example of our growing tech industry here in the heart of the East Midlands,” said David Bains, Partner and Head of the East Midlands and East of England at LDC.

“The business has been on a significant growth journey over the last 12 years, which has been achieved almost entirely organically,” added Steve Robinson, CEO of Littlefish.

Bowmark will work with Littlefish to invest in DevOps, digital transformation, and data management.

“Littlefish’s performance is a testament to a differentiated service delivery strategy that means the business can win and deliver on contracts usually reserved for the large global outsourcers,” added Simon Kaufman, Investment Director at Bowmark.

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PE house LDC backs Commsworld in push for UK expansion

Stuart — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 21:33:31 +0000

Posted onWednesday, December 18, 2019 - 21:33

Mid-market PE firm LDC has completed an investment in Commsworld that puts the Edinburgh-based comms provider on track for UK expansion and another year of double digit growth. The financials of the deal remain undisclosed.

Commsworld began its commercial life in 1994 and has 110 staff based across its offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Aberdeen. For the financial year to December 2018 it recorded revenues of £20m, a 41% increase on the previous 12 months.

The company has developed its own carrier grade network with UK and international reach.

Head of LDC in Scotland Mark Kerr and Investment Director for
Scotland Colin Bennett join the Commsworld board alongside CEO Ricky Nicol (pictured), CFO Graeme St John and Non-Executive Director Steve Langmead. Telecoms guru John Trower is also joining Commsworld as Chairman.

Kerr said: “Ricky and the team have transformed Commsworld in recent years from a telco reseller into a national network operator.

"Our investment will help them to build on this hard work and success and deliver further on their ambitions for Commsworld.”

Nicol added: “LDC’s investment is a real signal of our intent to further invest in our offering and capacity so we can continue to disrupt the market. We’ll be targeting another year of double-digit growth.”

The deal provides an exit for the remaining Non-Executive Directors and private shareholders.

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LDC link-up pays off for Connect Managed Services

Stuart — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 09:41:46 +0000

Posted onThursday, July 19, 2018 - 10:41

LDC's investment in Connect Managed Services underscores the role of private equity in building reseller businesses as the London-based UC provider posts record revenues of £21m in its latest financial year, up from £13.3m the previous year.

Total EBITDA increased by 77% to £2.3m from £1.3m in 2016. Trading for the first quarter of 2018 is up 84%.

In 2014 LDC supported a management buyout which sparked a buy-and-build strategy with three acquisitions completed to date – Amazon Connect specialist CoolHarbour, the assets of UVN’s US-based technical and engineering support teams, and contact centre business PC-1 which strengthened Connect’s Cisco capabilities.

CEO Alex Tupman (pictured) said: “Partnering with LDC has given us the resource and expertise to laser focus on executing a clear growth plan, helping to scale our business through investment in research and development, along with pursuing a targeted programme of acquisitions.

"We’re now a business of international scale with a platform for further expansion after achieving a record year.”

LDC Portfolio Director Chris Coulton added: “Connect has increased its overseas reach and presence while firmly establishing itself as a key player in the UK market.”

Tupman was formerly ATC Group chief exec' and led the MBO at Connect aiming to build a £100m managed IT services business.

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