LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, is to open a new office in Newcastle city centre, further extending the firm’s footprint across the UK.
LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, is to open a new office in Newcastle city centre, further extending the firm’s footprint across the UK. The new office signals LDC’s ambition to support the growth of mid-market businesses in every region by deploying additional capital and resource on the ground.
Situated on Grey Street in the heart of Newcastle’s business district, the new office covers 3,000 sq ft. It will provide a permanent presence for the firm and confirms LDC’s continued commitment to the North East.
LDC has already had significant success of working with companies based in Newcastle and the North East, including partnerships with Aesica, Quantum Pharma and ZyroFisher. The firm currently has over GBP100 million invested in portfolio companies across the region including Newcastle-based NBS and Northumberland-headquartered Mandata.
Gareth Marshall has been promoted to Head of Newcastle to lead the new office. He will be joined by Origination Director, Zara Lane and newly appointed Investment Director Mike Barker.
Mike joins LDC with more than 20 years’ experience, having run his own advisory firm, led corporate development for a PLC and spent 12 years at Deloitte. His career has been focused on supporting business leaders on a broad range of strategic growth projects including mergers and acquisitions, investment in product development and the expansion of business services.
The team will continue to identify investment opportunities to further LDC’s support of ambitious management teams across the North East.
Martin Draper, Chief Executive of LDC, says: “The North East is an increasingly attractive proposition for private equity investors so opening a new office in Newcastle and extending our team felt like the perfect way for us to cement our commitment to the region.
“We see growth prospects across all corners of the UK, and our market-leading regional presence means we’re on the ground, prepared to deploy more of our capital and unique expertise to help business leaders capitalise on what is set to be a year of opportunity. This is an exciting new phase in our expansion, demonstrating commitment to our market-leading regional business model.”
Gareth Marshall, Head of Newcastle at LDC, says: “We’ve been active in the North East for more than 15 years. Indeed our team all live in Newcastle so we understand the importance of local knowledge and connections, and we recognise the strength of mid-market businesses and the corporate finance community already here.
“This is the first time the UK’s leading regional mid-market private equity business will have a permanent presence in the North East. It’s an exciting step that demonstrates our belief in the North East market. The decision to open an office was an obvious one, meaning we’re even better placed to support the ambitions of management teams keen to take the next step on their growth journey.”
LDC’s regional network of 50 investment professionals includes teams in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Reading.
