LDC sells Panther Logistics to trade

During the firm's holding period, the business expanded with new services, locations and customers, and invested in its technology platform, workforce and operations, according to a statement. LDC also appointed retail professional Greg Ball as a non-executive chairman, as well as Tony Nicholas as CFO and Gary McKelvey as chief operating officer.

Chicago-based AIT is a transportation management company, operating from more than 75 locations in Asia, Europe and North America. AIT is backed by Quad-C Management, a mid-market private equity firm based in the US.

The acquisition of Panther will enable AIT to expand its presence in the UK, with Panther's current management team remaining in the enlarged group to support its continued development.

Previous funding
LDC's Midlands team originally invested in Panther in 2016 as part of a £17m management buyout, backing CEO Colin McCarthy and his leadership team. The deal valued the company at around 11.9x EBITDA, according to Unquote Data. The transaction was supported by senior debt facilities from Santander's Structured Finance team. 

Company
Northampton-based Panther is a delivery firm, specialising in the retail and e-commerce sectors, with customers including Wayfair, Silentnight, Dunelm, Maze, Decathlon and Habitat. It generates sales of £60m through the provision of next-day courier services with a focus on large, fragile items such as furniture, garden equipment, fitness equipment and audiovisual equipment. It employs 400 people.

People
LDC – Rob Schofield (director).

Advisers
Vendor – Arrowpoint Advisory (corporate finance); Eversheds Sutherland (legal).

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• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Industrials
• United Kingdom
• LDC
• Trade sale