News
LDC appoints Nicol Fraser to head London team
26 Jun 2024
LDC, the leading private equity investor which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, has appointed Nicol Fraser as Managing Partner and Head of London.
Nicol, who is currently Head of London and the South East for BGF, will take up the role on 1st September. He will also join LDC’s Investment Committee and Leadership Team.
Prior to joining BGF, Nicol spent 20 years at Dunedin LLP, latterly as Partner responsible for the firm’s new investment team.
LDC Chief Executive Toby Rougier said Nicol’s appointment was an important part of LDC’s growth strategy: “Nicol is an experienced investor with an enviable track record in building successful businesses and teams. His appointment represents an investment in the growth of our business overall but particularly in London, where we see significant market opportunity.
“Our ability to combine on-the-ground presence in every major region with deep sector experience across LDC makes us ideally placed to support ambitious businesses exploring growth opportunities, whilst expanding our investment activity.”
There’s real strength in the LDC proposition as a multi-regional and multi-sector investor with the flexibility and consistency brought through being part of Lloyds Banking Group. I’ve long admired its relationship-based approach to investing, and the people-focused culture that’s been developed under Toby and his senior team."
He added: “London represents a major opportunity for us to expand our investment activity. By growing our team here and collaborating with our sector experts across the UK, we can provide the right level of support for ambitious, growth businesses.”
David Andrews, Partner and current Co-Head of LDC London, will continue to lead the team until September at which point he’ll play an important role in supporting Nicol to drive the ongoing success of the London office. He will also extend his focus on the media sector, where he has significant experience having delivered successful exits from business-to-business events specialist FC Business Intelligence and out of home advertising operator Ocean Outdoor, and more recently leading investments in digital marketing agency Croud and communications agency Headland, among others.
After more than 10 years with LDC, Christian Bruning, Partner and Co-Head of LDC London, will be stepping back from LDC at the end of June to focus on non-executive roles, Christian will remain on the boards of several LDC portfolio companies.
LDC invested £350m in UK-based medium-sized businesses during 2023. The firm, which has a portfolio of more than 90 businesses, also generated £440m of proceeds from nine exits, representing an average money multiple return of 3.2x.
LDC’s support helped the companies it exited in 2023 to generate average revenue growth of 133%, EBITDA growth of 180% and headcount growth of 159%.
Operating from 10 regional locations, LDC also made 18 new hires and 13 promotions during 2023.
