LONDON: The private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group is targeting a record £400m ($603m) worth of deals this year, extending one of the last bank-owned buyout firm’s reach into the UK market.
LDC has already splashed out more than £200m this year across 12 deals including Indian tonic water brand Fever-Tree and security bollard manufacturer ATG Access, a success rate that equates to one in every 13 UK buyouts completed so far.
LDC is now looking to break a spending record for new investment set in 2011 when it spent £360m.
Unlike rivals, which have cut the number of deals struck since the financial crisis, the firm has ploughed on with dealmaking to take advantage of what it says are low prices and a rise in the number of management teams looking for an exit.
“We would do more deals if we could. Some of our best returns have come from investing during the downturn,” Chris Hurley, one of the firm’s regional managing directors, said.
Reuters
