Sector

The NEC Group is a live entertainment business with over forty years of world-class expertise in venue and destination management.

Investment type
  • Carve out
Exit type
  • Private equity sale
Exit date

October 2018

Status
Re-investment date

October 2018

The Team
LDC Team
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We wanted to change our business and realise our business plan. We wanted investment to build new businesses, organically grow our business, invest in our teams and complete some acquisitions to grow our portfolio. We had a choice of a few people to go with, and what I liked the most about LDC was their approach. First and foremost, it wasn’t the business, it was the management team that they were interested in.”

Paul Thandi CBE
The NEC Group

Award-winning event

The NEC won a number of awards during its partnership with LDC including ‘Deal of the Year’ at the Midlands Insider Dealmakers Awards 2015, ‘Large Business of the Year’ and Paul Thandi CBE as ‘Ambassador of the Year’ at the West Midlands Business Masters Awards in 2017, and ‘Large Management Team of the Year’ at the BVCA Management Team Awards in 2017.

Revenue grew each year throughout the partnership, and the financial results for the year to 31 March 2018 reported revenue of £162.1m, up £4.4m on the previous year.

This growth reflects the group’s strategy to broaden the range of events across the NEC campus and city centre venues following investment in facilities and increased use of customer data analytics to maximise new event opportunities.

All set for ongoing growth

In October 2018, LDC exited its investment in the NEC Group to Blackstone, and completed a minority reinvestment. This will allow LDC to continue to support the management team on the next stage of the company’s growth journey.

In 2019 The NEC Group picked up the ‘Best Venue’ (over 20,000sqm) award at the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) Awards.

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Get your arms around the Value Creation team from day one, they are there to help you, they are a great group for LDC. We worked on sales effectiveness. I recommend every CEO to gets to know how you engage with your market and how you can do it better.”

Paul Thandi CBE
The NEC Group

Paul Thandi CBE outlines the positive impact that private equity has had on the transformation of The NEC Group

Awards

Large Business of the Year and Paul Thandi as Ambassador of the Year

West Midlands Business Masters Awards 2017

Deal of the Year

NEC Group – Midlands Insider Dealmakers Awards 2015

Large Management Team of the Year

BVCA Management Team Awards 2017

Best Venue (over 20,000sqm)

Association of Event Organisers 2019