Private equity house Livingbridge backs Northern firms with £113m in ‘hugely successful year’

Mid-market private equity house Livingbridge is celebrating an active 12 months that saw it provide nine-figure backing for businesses in the North.

The firm’s Northern team invested £113m through five deals, which is nearly half its total UK activity.

Livingbridge’s first deal of 2017, announced in February, was an investment in Stowe Family Law that will enable the Harrogate-based business to open as many as 30 new offices over the next five years.

The May following, Livingbridge backed Manchester-based online fashion company In The Style as it aims to drive turnover above the £50m mark in the next three years.

Other deals in the North included an investment into Macclesfield-headquartered used motorbike firm Superbike Factory and another in Mobysoft, a predictive software business based in Manchester.

As it ramped up its deal activity in the North, Livingbridge continued to build its Northern team with two appointments – Charlie Ross, who joined from professional services giant PwC, and Matt Jacobs, who relocated from the firm’s office in London.

Partner Pete Clarke said: “This has been a hugely successful year for Livingbridge’s Northern team, working alongside some extremely talented management teams and completing some outstanding investments.

“To have been involved in almost half of the firm’s total activity is exceptional, and is testament to the work ethic and quality of our investment team.”

He continued: “We operate a very different investment strategy to most other private equity houses, creating our deal teams by the sector and situational expertise of the individuals rather than purely on geographic location.

“This ensures that we have the most knowledgeable teams able to add the greatest value to each deal, whether based in Manchester, London or Birmingham.”