Lake District holiday cottage provider goes for growth as LDC backs management buyout

LDC, the mid-market private equity investor, has backed the management buyout of Lakelovers which provides luxury holiday cottages in the Lake District.

Founded in 1977, Lakelovers is a property management and lettings agency specialising in holiday cottages across the Lake District.

Headquartered in Windermere, the business manages more than 500 holiday properties, providing an end-to-end property management service that includes marketing, maintenance and bookings support, alongside bespoke legal, financial and regulatory advice, through its network of high-street branches.

The management buyout was led by CEO Paul Liddell, who previously acquired the business in 2000.

LDC’s investment will provide the capital to launch an acquisition trail that will drive scale across the Lakelovers portfolio and help the business capitalise on the growing trend for ‘staycations’.

In 2016 Visit England reported 6.9m Britons were planning an overnight stay in the UK, up from 5.1m in 2015, whilst the latest ONS statistics also show record levels of overseas tourism with 37.6m overseas visitors spending a total of £22.5bn during 2016.

Paul Liddell, CEO of Lakelovers, said: “Our business is founded on trust and a genuine understanding of the region’s tourism sector and it is the strength of our relationships with homeowners, combined with a focus on quality and service that has underpinned our growth journey to date.

“Whilst these factors remain at the heart of our strategy, the new partnership with LDC will provide the financial firepower and strategic support needed to further scale the business.

“With strong credentials in the UK travel sector and a track record for partnering with management teams to drive growth, LDC is the ideal partner to help us to unlock the potential of our business and kick-start the next phase of our growth strategy in earnest.”

The deal was led by investment directors Simon Braham, John Clarke and senior director Ged Gould. Braham and Gould will join the board as non-executive directors alongside Gary Fletcher.

Fletcher, former CEO of Forest Holidays, has more than 20 years’ experience supporting the growth of UK-focused travel businesses and is currently the non-executive chairman of LDC-backed holiday park operator Away Resorts and non-executive director of Forest Holidays.

Ged Gould, senior director at LDC, added: “With a focused proposition, a commitment to quality and service and a CEO that has more than 30 years’ experience in the local property market, Lakelovers has established itself as the pre-eminent provider of premium holiday cottages in the Lake District.

“Under Paul’s leadership, the business has developed a scalable business model that not only enables property owners to realise the full potential of their holiday home, but firmly lays foundations for future growth.

“More than 18 million people visit the Lake District every year and this is only set to increase since the region was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July. We’re looking forward to working with Paul to help capitalise on the growth opportunity both organically and through acquisitions, in what is a highly competitive market.”

LDC was advised by Grant Thornton (Peter Terry, Matt Bryden-Smith, Joe Pollard and Brad Seekings) and DLA Piper (Chris Wilson and James Kerrigan).

CIL (Liam McGuinness and James Cavanagh) provided commercial due diligence, with KPMG (Steve Heath and John Moth) providing financial due diligence and Javelin (Michael Fine and Humphrey Rose) providing digital due diligence.

Lakelovers was advised by KPMG (Jonathan Boyers, Richard Stark, Sarah Bannister and Harry Eastwood).

Pinsent Masons (Helen Ridge, Vicky Jew and Francesca Heggie) advised the vendors.

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