Mid-market private equity firm LDC has exited its minority investment in managed IT and cyber services provider Littlefish, to Bowmark Capital following a three-year partnership.Founded in 2003, Nottingham-based Littlefish provides a range of managed IT, cyber security, cloud and IT consultancy services to over 200 customers across both the private and public sectors.
LDC backed the management team at Littlefish in April 2019 with a minority investment to support the fast growth business. Over the last three years, the business has almost doubled revenues from £18.6m to £36.4m in its latest financial year.
During this period, the business continued to win significant new client contracts and developed its cyber security arm, which is now its fastest-growing service line. Littlefish also opened a new office in Sheffield and more than doubled its headcount to employ over 450 people across its Nottingham, Sheffield and London offices.
The transaction was led by LDC’s David Bains, partner and head of LDC’s East Midlands and East of England team.
Steve Robinson, CEO of Littlefish, said: “The business has been on a significant growth journey over the last 12 years, which has been achieved almost entirely organically. With LDC’s support, we have expanded our offering to cement Littlefish as a market-leader for quality and innovation in the delivery of end user services, and we’ve continued to invest in our people. Their flexibility, sector expertise and financial support have helped us to build our business with confidence.”
David Bains, partner and head of the East Midlands and East of England at LDC, added: “Littlefish is a stellar example of our growing tech industry here in the heart of the East Midlands. Its expansion is testament to the strength of the proposition that Steve and his team have developed. We’re proud to have been part of their journey during this exciting time, and we wish them every success on the next stage of their journey.”
LDC and the company was advised by Clearwater International (corporate finance), PwC (financial due diligence), Armstrong (commercial due diligence) and Browne Jacobson (legal).
