H1 2021 update: Over £95m committed to UK regional borrowers

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TDC has made a strong start to 2021, with over £95m of investment committed to regional UK borrowers, further capital deployed to support portfolio buy and build activity and a strong pipeline looking ahead to H2 2021.

 

New deals

 

Through the first half of 2021, TDC concluded six new investments, representing our busiest half on record. Recent transactions have included a range of sponsor and sponsorless investments and incorporated a variety of funding structures. Common to all investments has been supporting high quality management teams seeking to achieve their growth ambitions through transactional events. With a strong pipeline expected to lead to more investment completions in the coming weeks, we believe the regional deals market will continue to present significant opportunities in the months ahead as UK industry seeks to recover from the pandemic and capitalise on growth potential.

 

Range of transactions

 

TDC offers a range of debt solutions to support both sponsored and sponsorless transactions. Our recent investments have seen us partner with a number of new and existing private equity relationships, including H.I.G. Capital, Palatine Private Equity, Queens Park Equity and Sovereign Capital Partners. TDC has supported private equity acquisitions through a range of funding options including first lien, second lien and unitranche solutions.

As well as providing funding to support buyouts, TDC’s capital remains well suited to supporting follow on acquisitions and “bolt on” activity for example Catalis’ acquisition of IronOak Games and Once Upon A Time’s acquisition of Storm DFX. We look forward to working with our private equity partners to help portfolio companies expand, acquire and grow, and in the process drive regional economic growth and employment.

 

Portfolio realisations

 

With just a single asset remaining in Fund I, TDC is nearing conclusion of the full lifecycle of its maiden fund, from fundraising, through to deployment, portfolio management and ultimate realisation. Through this lifecycle comes a strong bank of credentials, experience and case studies, demonstrating how our capital has been used to add value to mid-market businesses and the regional economy.

So far in 2021, TDC has realised four investments; Veezu, AirSwift, Senior Architectural Systems and Character World. These successful exits are testament to the quality of the businesses and management teams and have been achieved despite a backdrop of significant macroeconomic uncertainty arising from Brexit, multiple general elections and the pandemic.

Robert Barr, Chairman at Senior Architectural Systems said:

“In TDC we found a very supportive and astute funding partner who quickly understood our business and was therefore able to offer strategic input and insight throughout our two year+ partnership. Their ongoing relationship-based approach and short lines of communication provided us with the certainty we required to successfully navigate the implications and ramifications of Covid-19 and we are grateful for their support.”

 

Looking forward

 

Although pleased with recent deal activity and fund performance, TDC’s ambition is for continued growth. The intention remains to scale TDC’s activity and assets under management further in the coming years. We have recently moved office to accommodate our growing and strengthening team. Mat Deering joined as a Partner in April 2021 and brings a wealth of complementary skills and experience alongside the existing team. Further recruits are scheduled to join in H2 2021 as we continue to drive TDC’s growth towards our assets under management target of £1bn. We expect to be fundraising again in late 2021 in support of that goal.

We would like to thank all of the funders, advisers and introducers who have helped support our recent deal and realisation activity and wish you a productive and successful H2.

Gary Davison, Managing Partner:

“As the UK’s only private credit fund headquartered outside London, TDC is committed to supporting transactions in the UK’s regional mid-market. Having raised over £500m of institutional capital since inception, we invest that capital in leading mid-market businesses as they seek to grow, expand and acquire. We are delighted to be seeing many fantastic funding opportunities as UK industries drive recovery out of the pandemic, alongside great stories of business resilience and success across our growing portfolio.”

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