As part of a £115million transaction, LDC has invested £42million to purchase a controlling stake in the company, from Vertex, the UK’s second largest provider of outsourced business services and technology solutions. Vertex will still retain a significant share in the business.
The management team will be led by current managing director, David Child, along with existing directors, Paul Yates and Kevin Budge. Alastair Hazell has been appointed as chairman of the board along with nonexecutive directors, Ben Gunn and Ivan Martin. Hazell was group managing director for Thomson Financial Europe, Gunn recently retired from running Friends Provident and Martin is executive chairman of Sesame Group, the UK’s largest IFA network.
David Child, managing director, 1st The Exchange, comments:
“We are delighted that LDC has recognised the potential we have to retain and extend our position as a market leader. Together with Vertex, we now have an incredibly strong investment foundation to support and accelerate our future plans.
“The investment represents a clear demonstration of confidence and support in both our business model and the future for the financial services sector. This clearly illustrates the strength of our ongoing commitment to drive forward future growth to the benefit of all our clients, partners and
staff.”
Daniel Sasaki, director at LDC, said:
“1st The Exchange is a great business, with a strong management team and dynamic potential. We believe that by combining our specialist experience with the existing proposition, we can help to support the growth of 1st The Exchange and help it achieve its true potential.”
Paul Sweeny, chief executive officer of Vertex, explains:
“The restructured investment share makes strategic sense. It provides Vertex with an ongoing interest in the valuable future potential of 1st The Exchange and gives us the ability to invest in the development of our core business lines of customer management outsourcing, consulting, IT and debt management: in this way we will continue to focus our clients, their customers’ and business operations.”
1st The Exchange provides a market-leading integrated suite of technology solutions, software and consultancy to the financial services industry throughout the UK. Based in Cheltenham, Woking and Warwick, it supports the key stages of a distributor’s business process, whatever its size and enables users to service their clients more efficiently and profitability, whilst meeting regulatory demands, reducing costs and maximising profits.
