LDC buys Instinctif Partners from Vitruvian Partners

Alessia Argentieri
05 September 2019

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has acquired a majority stake in business communications consultancy Instinctif Partners from Vitruvian Partners, which has exited its investment.

According to press reports, LDC deployed around £20m to acquire a stake of approximately 51% in the company.

LDC intends to support the company's growth, further boost its expansion into international markets and scale up its team.

Following the deal, Tim Trotter, former deputy chair of Weber Shandwick and founder and former CEO of Ludgate Group, will be appointed non-executive chair, while LDC's Lawrence Dean will join the company's board as non-executive director.

Vitruvian bought a stake in Instinctif, at the time known as College Group, in 2011. The transaction left management and staff with a substantial stake in the company, which was valued at around £45m.

Company
Headquartered in London, Instinctif is an international business communications consultancy that provides strategic advice to companies' boards and executive teams worldwide. It employs around 300 professionals across 12 offices located in the UK, Germany, Ireland, Brussels, Dubai, South Africa, Hong Kong and China. The firms' clients includes Google, SAP, TalkTalk, Zoopla and Randstad.

The company generates EBITDA of £4.9m from revenues £45.8m, according to the most recent public documents available.

People
LDC – Lawrence Dean (investment director).
Instinctif Partners – Tim Linacre (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Gateley (financial due diligence); Helion Partners (financial due diligence); KPMG (financial due diligence, tax).
Company – Mayer Brown (legal); PwC (financial due diligence).

LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has acquired a stake in business communications consultancy Instinctif Partners from Vitruvian Partners, which has exited the investment.