LDC exits Ellis Whittam to Marlowe in £59m deal

Alessia Argentieri
29 October 2020

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Mid-market private equity firm LDC has sold its stake in UK-based employment law specialist Ellis Whittam to Marlowe, a London-listed safety and regulatory compliance expert.

In addition to LDC's minority stake, Marlowe also acquired the majority stake held by Ellis Whittam's founder, Mark Ellis, for a total consideration of £59m on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

Marlowe is a London Stock Exchange-listed company with a market capitalisation of around £300m. Following this acquisition, Ellis Whittam will become Marlowe's platform for growth in employment law, HR and safety compliance. The company will retain its brand name, while CEO Gavin Snell and the firm's board of directors will continue to lead the business. As a part of the deal, Ellis Whittam founder Mark Ellis will retire.

LDC acquired a minority stake in Ellis Whittam in September 2016. As part of this transaction, the company's CEO, Deven Thakrar, stepped down. Meanwhile, chairperson and founder Mark Ellis – who retained a majority stake in the company – took on the role of CEO. In addition, LDC investment director Richard Ibbett took a seat on the board alongside director Johnny Bell.

With LDC's support, Ellis Whittam grew organically, investing across its sales and marketing capabilities, technology propositions and service delivery teams, and tripling its client base. The company's revenues increased from £11m in 2016 to £16m in 2019.

Company
Founded in 2004, Ellis Whittam is an employment law, HR, and health and safety advisory business.

The company provides its services via a fixed-fee subscription model to more than 3,300 organisations across the UK.

Ellis Whittam is headquartered in Chester, with offices in Glasgow and London, and employs approximately 180 staff, more than half of whom are health and safety consultants, employment lawyers and HR compliance advisers.

The company generated revenues of £16.1m and adjusted EBITDA of £4.4m in the year ending 31 August 2020.

People
LDC – Richard Ibbett (investment director).
Ellis Whittam – Mark Ellis (founder); Gavin Snell (CEO).
Marlowe – Alex Dacre (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Clearwater International (corporate finance); DWF (legal); KPMG (financial due diligence).
Acquirer – Rothschild (corporate finance); Fieldfisher (legal); Grant Thornton (financial due diligence).