Lyceum Capital, the growth investor, announces that it is expanding its focus within the UK regions by appointing Martin Cordey to its team. Martin will work on developing relationships and deal opportunities for the firm in the Midlands. The move comes as midlands based Lyceum-backed facilities management group Bellrock completed its fourth add-on acquisition in recent weeks, including the 100th add on for Lyceum as a firm. Bellrock was acquired by Lyceum in 2013 and recently moved its headquarters to Leicester city centre.
Martin joins after a 30-year career with Lloyds Bank, most recently serving as head of its Acquisition Finance team in Birmingham. He is a leveraged finance specialist and has extensive experience working with a range of businesses in the Midlands and South West.
Lyceum Capital and Cass Business School’s UK Growth Buyout Dashboard was published earlier this month and showed that majority transactions with an enterprise value of between £10m and £100m in the first half of 2016 were on a par with 2015 in spite of the pre-Brexit uncertainty. Of the 40 transactions of this size in the period, seven (17.5%) involved businesses based in the Midlands.
Simon Hitchcock, Partner at Lyceum Capital said:
“We are delighted that Martin is joining the Lyceum team and his appointment shows our commitment to the Midlands market. We recognise that there are a wealth of attractive investment opportunities across the region, and Martin’s experience, network and presence in the local area will enable Lyceum to make the most of these. Business Services in particular, is a well-established sector in the Midlands and an area that Lyceum has specialised in for many years.
Martin Cordey added:
“I have known the team at Lyceum for a long time and have worked with them on several transactions. Lyceum has a stellar track record in transforming businesses and I’m looking forward to working alongside them in future. I see many untapped investment opportunities across the Midlands, and am convinced that Lyceum’s wealth of expertise and enthusiasm will continue to help local businesses unlock their potential.”
Martin will be based predominantly in Birmingham, but will be travelling extensively across the region as part of his remit.