UBDS Group partners with LDC to drive growth.

PRESS RELEASE.

UBDS Group, a fast-growing enterprise digital lifecycle and cybersecurity consultancy, has secured investment from LDC, the private equity investor that is part of Lloyds Banking Group, as it pursues an ambitious growth strategy.

Founded in 2019 by Diptesh Patel, UBDS Group is headquartered in London, with offices in Manchester and Bengaluru. It provides specialist digital lifecycle, cloud adoption, cybersecurity, data and AI services. The business offers comprehensive, end-to-end digital solutions tailored for the public and private sectors and employs approximately 300 people.

The business has grown rapidly, with headcount increasing fivefold since 2022 and revenue rising by almost 150% over the past three years. This growth has been supported by the growing strategic importance of digital transformation for organisations and underpinned by two successful acquisitions in 2024 – Rayo, an AWS consultancy, and 3B Data Security, a cyber security services business.

LDC is backing UBDS Group’s management team, led by CEO Alex Gore, alongside CFO Kevin Wheeler, Group Chief Client Officer Sam Pillai, Group Chief Solution Architect Paul Collins, Group Chief Technology Officer Matt Johnson and Group Chief People Officer Emma Durkin. The team has been in place for over four years and has led the business through a period of significant scaling and operational maturity. LDC’s investment will help the business pursue its organic and acquisitive growth strategy to add complementary capabilities and geographic reach.

Diptesh Patel featured in The LDC Top 50 in 2022 and received The Alumni Award from LDC in 2024, recognising the business’s impressive growth and impact. He is transitioning to a Non-Executive Director role as part of the transaction. Peter Sweetbaum has been appointed Chair, bringing extensive professional services and private-equity-backed experience.

The investment was led by LDC Partner and Head of South, Aylesh Patel, alongside Partner Chris Baker and Investment Manager Ana-Maria Garaba. Aylesh and Chris will join the board as Non-Executive Directors.

Alex Gore, CEO of UBDS Group, said: “We’re proud to have built a business that’s trusted by some of the largest organisations in the public and private sectors thanks to our dedication to client outcomes, security and reliability. With LDC’s support and technology sector experience, we’re confident we can accelerate our organic growth and pursue targeted acquisitions to add real capability. We’re looking forward to working together.”

Diptesh Patel, Founder of UBDS Group, added: "We have built something remarkable at UBDS, and we are only getting started. In Aylesh and the wider LDC team we have found a partner who shares our long-term outlook and understands the dynamics of the markets we operate in. They have a strong track record of backing ambitious, founder-led businesses and helping them scale, including through acquisition. With their support behind our team and culture, I could not be more excited about what lies ahead."

Aylesh Patel, Partner and Head of South at LDC, said: “UBDS Group is exactly the kind of business we’re excited to back. Alex, Kevin, Sam, Paul, Matt and Emma are all highly experienced, understand the needs of their customers and have built excellent foundations. They have demonstrated consistent operational excellence and the business is well positioned for future growth.”

In the last decade, LDC has invested more than £717m into technology businesses with a combined enterprise value of £1.9bn. These include Daintta, a professional services firm which delivers technology into secure environments, Etrading Software, which designs, builds and operates highly specialised technology solutions for global capital markets, i247, a provider of technology-led solutions for the automotive leasing sector, and Aker Systems, a secure cloud data infrastructure provider.

LDC was advised by BDO (corporate finance), Teneo (commercial due diligence), RSM (financial due diligence), KPMG (tax) and Shoosmiths (Legal).

UBDS Group was advised by Raymond James (corporate finance), Dentons (legal), Megabuyte (commercial due diligence) and EY (vendor due diligence).