Whilst each story is as unique as the next, it is ambition – determination in times of opportunity and courage in times of challenge – which unites them all.
So sit back and enjoy reading their stories below or on The Daily Telegraph’s online hub.
The Midlands: Backing the Nation’s Engine Room
The Midlands was the first leg of our journey across the entrepreneurial hubs of Britain in search of 35 inspiring medium-sized firms.
The Midlands has long-been viewed as the engine room of the UK economy thanks to its rich heritage in engineering. Our experience of investing in the Midlands also bears testimony to this unique strength of character and opportunity. Over three decades to 2016, we’ve backed more than 150 firms, providing more than £1.1bn of capital to help them to meet their own ambitions.
Across almost every sector – from engineering and specialist manufacturing to aerospace, pharmaceuticals and business services – we’ve worked with outstanding firms that have achieved great success through our partnership.
The common ingredient? Ambition. Yes, they all had a strong proposition in their markets and a clear growth strategy, but it was their management teams’ ability and ambition that always stood out.
And that’s always been the secret of our own success – recognising that business owners and managers know how to run their business. Our role is to back and support their vision with the financial and strategic firepower needed to help them realise that potential.
Here, we shine a light on just a handful of the most ambitious firms across the region with their sights set firmly on growth.
Read their stories here:-
Grayson Thermal Systems is making buses cool
The fast-growing company plugging into future retail
The self-driving pods that accelerate us into the future
Gtech pioneer reveals the story behind the eBike
How Salts Healthcare has doubled in size since the recession
The North West: Backing a Regional Powerhouse
The second leg of our journey across Britain in search of 35 inspiring medium-sized firms took us to the North West.
As the heart of the northern powerhouse project, and with a reputation for innovation and enterprise dating back centuries, it’s hardly surprising to see such a high calibre of businesses on show.
Although the area is renowned for its clusters in biosciences, technology and creative industries, it’s the sheer diversity of the business landscape that’s most striking – and our top five standout firms underline this point.
Once again, their stories provide a snapshot of the region’s unique attitude. Each one has a clear ambition to make waves in their chosen markets – through leadership, innovation, growth, exports, and often all of the above. Their ambitions are bold, and global. Standing behind them are management teams with the determination to make them happen.
This reflects our own experience of investing in the region. In the last 15 years, our Manchester team has backed over 50 management teams, providing some £640m of equity to support their growth.
In almost every sector – from engineering and specialist manufacturing to technology, retail and business services – we’re working with outstanding firms who are striding ahead as a result of our partnership.
ATG Access, whose vehicle barriers are used to protect buildings all over the world; Mini-Cam, whose innovative inspection cameras are helping major players in energy and waste in 25 countries; Ellis Whittam, whose outsourced HR, employment law and health and safety services are helping over 10,000 firms.
Each one, a success story that’s still only half told. What’s more, there are dozens more mid-sized firms across the region with that same world-class potential – and we’re on point, ready to help management teams get there.
Read their stories here:-
Car Finance 24/7 offers a new way to motor
Senator Group’s innovation leads firm in funky, new direction
Private cloud storage helps ANS Group reassure customers
RS Clare is an old-school business looking to the future
Binky Felstead and the fashionistas who made In The Style a success
Yorkshire and the North East: Backing the Magnetic North
As a patch of the country stretching from The Pennines to the East coast and right up to the Scottish Borders, it’s hardly surprising to see the diversity of businesses on show, and this was our stop for the third leg of our journey.
The area plays host to several rather than a single business community and, despite the challenges of its post-industrial past, there are both established and emerging sectors where dozens of high-growth firms are prospering on a national and international level.
Their tales provide a snapshot of the region’s finest mid-sized businesses with true ambition to lead, grow, export and innovate.
Since LDC first opened its doors in the region back in 1989, our Leeds-based team has backed 55 similarly ambitious businesses, providing more than £450m of equity to support their growth.
Pharmaceuticals, software, distribution, food and drink, engineering, business services – in almost every sector, we’ve partnered with some of the region’s most accomplished management teams, building scale as well as long-term, lasting value.
From supporting environmental services business Adler & Allan as it grows and expands its service offering, to fuelling international growth and enhancing the product portfolio of SSP, a leading provider of general insurance technology solutions.
As ever, there are dozens more mid-sized companies across the region with similar world-class potential.
Read their stories here:-
Thai Leisure Group has bold ambitions for its restaurants
Heck triumphs with sausages for veggies and meat lovers
Lambert’s unique and innovative business model key to company’s growth
Botanical soft drinks firm Fentimans blooms after investing in innovation
Scotland: Backing Growth Beyond Borders
The next leg of our journey was across Scotland. For a country as vast as this, it is not surprising to see so many companies with a stand out ambition to succeed. Stretching from the oil centre of Aberdeen to the bustling central belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh, these firms are the driving force of Scotland’s economy.
While the make-up of the business community may have shifted over time, from Scotland’s position as an industrial powerhouse to an economy that today also boasts a booming services sector, it is the diversity of Scottish companies that truly catches the eye. Our top five firms reinforce that point.
Their stories demonstrate success across industries as diverse as financial services, manufacturing and construction. Yet there remains one common theme among them all.
Each firm has a clear ambition to be the best in its field. Whether success is achieved through strong leadership, innovation, growth or exports, each management team is delivering on its goals.
This mirrors our own experience in Scotland. In the last three years alone we have deployed nearly £60m of capital to support the growth aspirations of firms across the country.
From supporting Inverness-based helicopter operator PDG Helicopters to backing innovative manufacturer CMS Window Systems, which hails from Cumbernauld, we are continuing to help management teams build scale and drive growth.
What’s more, there are many more mid-sized firms across the country with that same potential – and we’re on point, ready to help them get there.
Read their stories here:-
Who do you call in an animal emergency? Vets Now
Scottish taxi firm Allied Vehicles goes beyond borders for growth
Insights Group reveals what colour preferences mean
Nucleus: setting out to make investing easy
NWH Group ‘creating a new labour pool’
South West and Wales: Backing a hub of innovation and enterprise
Today, our Backing Business Ambition campaign visits the South West and Wales – the fifth leg of our journey across Britain as we continue our search for 35 inspiring mid-sized businesses.
From a hub of innovation in the South West to the magnet of enterprise that is Wales, we’re seeing a swathe of companies that have their sights set firmly on growth. Here, we take a look at just five of them.
Their stories are diverse – from manufacturing and business services to technology and transport. Yet they all exude ambition and they are all driving growth, be it through exports and innovation or expert leadership.
Our own experience of investing in the region reflects this. Over the years we’ve supported the vision of many management teams, and we continue to provide the financial firepower and strategic guidance these firms need to help them achieve their ambitions.
From backing cake and dessert manufacturer Ministry of Cake, in a deal that is helping the business drive growth through innovative new products and exporting to new markets, to supporting Tredegar-based Penn Pharma as it increased revenues from £17m to £30m during LDC’s tenure.
While these are only two examples, we know there are dozens more mid-sized firms with that same potential – and we’re ready to help them get there.
Read their stories here:-
Henry the Hoover: still smiling after all these years
Technology investments vital for taxi firm Veezu
Vista Retail Support is keeping retailers open for business
Rise Technical Recruitment uniquely positioned to fill skills gap
Bionic business Ortho-D promises a right old knees-up
The South: Backing a diverse hive of activity
For the sixth leg of our journey we visit the South. Reaching from the outskirts of London over to Oxford and down to The Solent, the South of England is home to a rich and varied business community.
With industries as diverse as retail and maritime, and technology and manufacturing, there’s an abundance of high-growth businesses with bags of potential. Here, we take a look at just five of them.
A common theme among these mid-market heroes is their ambition to grow. Whether it is achieved through a focus on international expansion, moving into new markets or innovating to become a market-leader. Each of these businesses is at the top of their game.
Our own experience of investing in the region mirrors this drive and motivation. Over the years our Reading-based team has backed 55 ambitious management teams, providing £540m of investment to support their growth plans.
From backing supply chain expert Bybox, in a deal that is helping drive international growth, to investing in Poole-based BOFA, now the global leader in developing systems that extract harmful gases and particles from the air, and helping HR software specialist CIPHR continue to innovate, we’re helping our portfolio companies achieve their ambitions.
There are many more mid-sized companies across the South of England with similar stand-out potential. We can’t wait to meet them and play a part in their growth journey.
Read their stories here:-
All-natural skincare brand Childs Farm are taking on the big players
The vehicle hire firm keeping Britain’s businesses on the road
Helping new inventors key part of Morgan IAT’s business strategy
The data-driven holiday business positioned to weather any travel storm
E-commerce vital to growth of fashion company Childrensalon
London: Backing firms with their eyes on the prize
Our final destination is admired as one of the greatest cities in the world, it’s a complex business landscape of multiple ecosystems, each one a world-beater in its own right. This unique community has helped to make London the fastest growing region in the UK since 2012.
From the financial juggernauts of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf to the creative cluster in the West End and the tech hotspot in the East, there’s a diverse range of businesses right across London that are continuing to thrive. Here, we take a look at just five of them.
While these businesses may be headquartered in London, it’s by no means the limit of their operations. These firms are expanding in the UK and overseas, they are investing in their products and services and they have management teams that are leading from the front.
They mirror the ambition of the city they call home and it’s this that forms the foundations of their success.
Our own experience of investing in London is not dissimilar. Over the last 35 years we have supported more than 200 management teams in the city. We have provided £1.3bn of financial firepower to help these businesses to grow, in turn supporting 6,500 jobs in the region.
From investing in Iglu.com, the UK’s largest independent agent of ski holidays and cruises, and helping the business generate sales in excess of £200m a year, to backing the £50m management buy-out of premium restaurant group D&D London. We’re helping businesses to deliver their growth ambitions.
Although we have 35 years’ experience under our belt, it’s clear we’ve not even scratched the surface of the opportunity. There are hundreds of mid-sized companies across London that have the same world-class potential, and we can’t wait to meet them and play a part in their growth journey.
Read their stories here:-
Japanese fast-food brand Wasabi has hit on a winning formula
Charlie Bigham’s: the ready meal business focusing on quality
Consumer confidence crucial for high-end security business Banham
Lily’s Kitchen: the gourmet pet food business putting nutrition first
Essensys: the IT outsourcer with an ambitious target