LDC adds to exit list with Workplace Systems trade sale

Financial details surrounding the sale were not disclosed for the time being. LDC had acquired the business in 2012 in a £41m take-private – the offer was more than double Workplace Systems' £20m market cap at the time. LDC secured an 82% stake in the business, with management holding the balance, according to unquote" data.

The private equity house provided further equity funding to the business in 2013 to support its expansion.

LDC has been busy divesting assets in recent weeks; just a day prior to the Workplace Systems announcement, it scored a 6.1x multiple on the sale of New World Trading Company, a UK pub and restaurant business, to Graphite Capital for £50m after a three-year holding period.

Since the beginning of April, LDC has reaped a 4x return on the trade sale of Property Software Holdings, a 2.4x return on the listing of Joules, 2.3x on the trade sale of Orion Media and 2.3x on the trade sale of Original Additions. Most recently, LDC sold UK clinical trial research business Synexus to US pharmaceutical company PPD for £178m after a one-year holding period, generating a 2.3x return. Exit proceeds over the past two years for LDC now total £1.3bn, according to the firm.

Company
Founded in 1986, Workplace Systems provides cloud-based scheduling software to the retail and hospitality sectors. Its product is used to schedule workers for clients including WH Smith, Coral and Abellio. The company is based in the UK, with offices in Chicago and Sydney.

Based on its most recently filed accounts, Workplace Systems posted a £1.2m loss before tax in 2014, from a £6.8m turnover.

People
LDC – Chris Hurley (CEO).
Workplace Systems – David Farquhar (COO).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• Technology
• UK / Ireland
• LDC
• Trade sale