News
LDC underlines its commitment to the South West and Wales with two new hires and office move
21 Mar 2024
LDC, the private equity investor which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, has appointed Vera Kuehne as an Investment Manager and Sally Tam as an Investment Executive to increase its support of businesses in the South West and Wales.
The firm’s now six-strong team of investors, led by Partner Dewi Hughes, has also moved to a new, improved office in the heart of Bristol in the prestigious Queen Square. This gives LDC the additional space to enable its continued growth and investment in the team, in addition to providing it with a newly designed area to host events. The team will continue to work across both Bristol and Cardiff offices as it supports businesses across the region.
Vera brings six years’ experience in private equity and investment banking. Most recently, she was a Senior Associate at CPP Investments, where she worked on all stages of the transaction process, from deal origination to post-acquisition value creation.
Sally joins LDC from PwC in Bristol, where she was an M&A Manager and played a key role advising on transactions in the UK and overseas.
In their new roles, Vera and Sally will support the team with originating, executing and managing portfolio investments.
Dewi Hughes, Partner and Head of LDC in the South West and Wales, said: “The South West and Wales is home to so many innovative and fast-growth businesses, and moving to our new office in Queen Square demonstrates our long-term commitment and enthusiasm to continue investing in the region. This builds on our over 15-year heritage in the geography and positions us well to expand our support for ambitious local management teams in the years ahead.
We’re pleased to welcome Vera and Sally to the team to help boost that support, as we continue to focus on meeting and backing the entrepreneurs and business leaders that make the region so vibrant.”
Vera Kuehne, Investment Manager at LDC in the South West and Wales, added: “LDC stands out as one of the leading supporters of medium-sized businesses across the South West of England and Wales. I’m looking forward to working with the team and its network of advisers to help local management teams grow their businesses.”
Sally Tam, Investment Executive at LDC in the South West and Wales, said: “I’m relishing the prospect of helping the team build on its recent successes, and supporting ambitious business leaders across the region and a variety of sectors to realise their growth potential.”
LDC’s South West and Wales team will also continue to work with various national and local charities. This includes the firm’s national partnership with The Prince’s Trust to support young entrepreneurs across the country, and a number of Bristol and Cardiff based charities such as Leukaemia Care, Bristol Sport Foundation, The Grand Appeal, Young Lives vs. Cancer, Ty Hafan and Fareshare Cymru. Local Bristol artist, Danielle Niell, who was supported by the Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme funded by LDC, has designed the artwork for the new office.
The appointments and office move follow a busy period for LDC in the South West and Wales. In 2023, the team completed six transactions, including backing the management teams of Taunton-based legal services firm The Barrister Group and tech enabled ship inspection business Idwal, and exiting its investment in Bristol-based Cakesmiths, following a two-year partnership which saw the artisan cakemaker almost treble its revenue. The team also supported the buy-and-build strategies of its existing portfolio, including Hybrid’s acquisition of Prompt Marketing and Sohonet’s acquisition Los Angeles-based 5th Kind.
