LDC exits investment in Kerv following sustained revenue growth

In three years, Kerv revenues surged five-fold under LDC backing as the PE firms now exits the deal

Private equity firm LDC has exited its investment in cloud and digital services provider Kerv following a three-year growth journey that saw revenues surge from £20m to £100m.

Kerv also increased EBITDA from £3m to nearly £20m and grew headcount from 100 to 700 during LDC's investment.

As part of the deal, Bridgepoint Development Capital has taken a majority stake in Kerv and LDC has reinvested £30m to support the company's continued expansion.

Kerv provides integrated cloud and digital transformation services to mid-market, enterprise and public sector organisations.

The company partners with global tech leaders and tailors solutions for key verticals including financial services, public sector, retail and not-for-profit.

This is delivered with a focus on excellent customer experience and employee engagement.

LDC initially backed founders Alastair Mills and Mike Ing to merge three complementary managed services firms to create Kerv in July 2020, investing £22m.

Over the next three and a half years, LDC provided £20m more to support acquisitions.

With LDC's backing, Kerv invested significantly in its technology and team to drive sustainable growth and deliver its customer experience strategy.

Today, Kerv employs around 700 people across the UK, Europe, Asia and the US.

With 30 per cent organic growth annually since 2020, Kerv's clients now include Standard Chartered, Skipton Building Society, DVSA and Kingfisher.

Kerv is also working towards B-Corp certification, staying committed to improving outcomes through technology.

The deal, led by LDC's Aylesh Patel and Francesca Speke, generated an IRR of 45 per cent for LDC.

Founders Mills and Ing and Kerv's management will continue leading the next growth phase.

Mills said LDC "understood our vision" and helped Kerv scale significantly while retaining its focus on people.

Ing said LDC had been a "brilliant supporter" and Kerv looked forward to continued growth with LDC and Bridgepoint's backing.

Patel added: "Alastair, Mike and the team have achieved phenomenal success with Kerv. They brought together three firms during Covid and created one of the UK's fastest growing cloud and digital services providers. Their focus on people and customers underpins consistently high growth."