WestBridge buys Eque2 for £46.5m from LDC

Katharine Hidalgo
14 December 2020

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WestBridge has acquired business management software developer Eque2 from LDC for ТЃ46.5m.

The firm has acquired a 75% stake in the business and invested around £29m in equity.

This is the sixth investment from WestBridge SME Fund II, which closed on £140m in June 2019. The fund was 47% deployed as of June 2020.

Both LDC and some undisclosed institutional shareholders in the company have fully exited the business.

The buyout was led by CEO Justin Moule and chief operating officer Peter Davidson, and supported by finance director Andy Bones, marketing director Richard Boston and development director Dominic Imrie.

The company will continue to invest significantly in customer service and product development to allow customers to further integrate and mobilise the commercial and financial aspects of their business to drive efficiencies and ultimately improve profitability.

Previous funding
Livingbridge invested in the carve-out of Eque2 (then known as Sage Construction) from parent group Sage in May 2013. The firm drew capital for the transaction from its Baronsmead VCT.

LDC backed a £16m secondary buyout with a minority investment in November 2017, alongside the company's other institutional shareholders.

Between 2017 and 2020, the business increased revenues by 29%, EBITDA by 85% and headcount by 53%, according to a statement. During its partnership with LDC, Eque2 also made three acquisitions: Miracle Dynamics, JNC Solutions and Clip IT Solutions.

Company
Manchester-based Eque2 supplies business management software to 2,700 customers in the construction, housebuilding and contracting industries, according to a statement. The company reported revenues of £15m and EBITDA of £2.1m in the year ending on 29 April 2019.

People
WestBridge – Peter Barkley (investment director).
LDC – John Clarke (investment director).

Advisers
Equity – Lincoln International, Chris Brooks, Anant Kapoor, Miles Kershaw, Xenia Sarri (corporate finance); Capital Law, Tom Kelleher, Gareth Williams-Davies, Catherine Golledge (legal); Armstrong Transaction Services, Peter Cookson, Mike Callow (commercial due diligence); BDO, Chris Heatlie, Sarah Cumming, Matt Savage, Hilary Sharpe (financial due diligence); Sales Blue Print, Graeme Hall (commercial due diligence).
Company - GCA Altium, Adrian Reed, Chris Gough, Raiko Stelten, Dominic Orsini, Gabrielle Worrall, Durgesh Panchani, Tom Shackleton (corporate finance).