LDC acquires Metronet from YFM

LDC injected £11m into the firm, which is understood to have an enterprise value of around £15m. The exit sees YFM reaping a 5.5x multiple on its original investment

The transaction will support a heavier focus on sales and marketing, further investment in infrastructure and services, and the expansion of the company's network in the UK.

Previous funding
In 2004 Metronet received startup funding from angel investor group Acceleris and private equity house YFM Equity Partners, investing via the North West Business Investment Scheme in 2004. YFM has injected £1.1m into the firm since its inception.

Company
Established in 2003 and based in Manchester, Metronet provides data infrastructure to more than 500 companies in the UK. Services include high-speed connectivity such as wireless, fibre-leased lines and metropolitan Ethernet networks. Managed services include voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP), managed hosting and wireless leased data to support CCTV.

People
Investment directors Jonathan Bell and Simon Braham led the deal for LDC. Angela Warner is portfolio director at YFM. Elliott Mueller is CEO of Metronet.

Advisers
Equity – Altium, Stuart Lees (Corporate finance); Gateley, Paul Jefferson, Jemma Bolton (Legal).
Company – Clearwater, Carl Houghton (Corporate finance); Eversheds, Alasdair Outhwaite, Ed Bartlett (Legal).

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• Topics
• UK / Ireland
• Technology
• Buyouts
• Exits
• United Kingdom
• LDC
• YFM Group
• Secondary buyout