Palatine exits IT managed service provider Acora to LDC for over 3x return

• Palatine’s Buyout Fund III supported Acora to make five acquisitions
• Acora’s ‘most significant’ acquisition was Secrutiny in May 
• The company achieved double-digit organic growth above 20% in 2022

Palatine announced that it has exited IT managed service provider Acora to LDC for an over 3x return on its investment.

Burgess Hill, England-headquartered Acora made five acquisitions with the backing of Palatine’s Buyout Fund III, adding scale and service capability. The most significant acquisition, according to Palatine, was cyber security company Secrutiny in May.

Acora  achieved double-digit organic growth at over 20 percent in 2022 with revenues doubling to £60 million.

“As well as the successful buy and build strategy, during the period of Palatine’s investment a number of key value-enhancing initiatives have been implemented including the repositioning of the business to focus on customer experience, a digitisation project to automate efficiencies in service delivery, and a significant ongoing ESG project to support talent attraction and retention – which helped the business gain recognition the Sunday Times Best Places to Work programme,” said Andy Strickland, senior investment director at Palatine.

“This new investment from LDC gives us significant firepower to help accelerate our ambitious growth plans,” said David Rabson, CEO of Acora. “This investment is all about continuing our existing trajectory over the longer term.”

Palatine is a Manchester-headquartered private equity and venture capital firm. It has two funds, Buyout and Impact, and was founded in 2005.

LDC is the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group and is headquartered in London. It has a portfolio of 90 businesses across the UK and invests across sectors including construction and property, financial services, industrials, retail and consumer, financial services, TMT, travel and leisure, and support services.