LDC divests Validus-IVC in trade sale to Verisk

Kenny Wastell
22 June 2018

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LDC has sold its stake in Validus-IVC, a UK-based motor insurance claims management and counter-fraud software firm, to US listed trade buyer Verisk.

The transaction brings to an end a five-year holding period for the vendor, during which Validus-IVC expanded its sales activities into the Australian market. In its most recently available financial results, the company said it was in the process of diversifying its service offering into new markets.

LDC said in a statement that the tenure was longer than intended, but that it remains "with [its] portfolio companies to help them through challenges". According to publicly available documents, the business generated EBITDA of £374,000 in the year ending in April 2017, an improvement of almost £600,000 on the £223,000 loss posted the previous year.

At the time of publication, Unquote was awaiting a response from LDC with regard to the deal valuation and returns generated from the investment.

Previous funding
LDC backed the £12m MBO of Validus-IVC in 2013, acquiring a significant minority stake and enabling five founding shareholders to make an exit from the company.

Company
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Norwich, Validus-IVC is a provider of claims management services and a developer of counter-fraud software for the motor insurance industry. The company has additional operations in Bath.

According to the documents, the business generated a turnover of £7.2m in the year ending in April 2017, up from £6.7m in the previous year.

People
LDC – Rob Schofield (investment director).
Validus-IVC – Ed Van Rooyen (CEO).