Since its £18m investment in 2013, Livingbridge has supported YSC through a period of significant growth. The YSC management team has undertaken a £72m management buy-out with backing from another private equity firm, to pursue the next phase in its growth strategy. The exit has delivered a gross money multiple of 2.4x to Livingbridge clients.
Headquartered in London, YSC today operates from 17 offices in Europe, North America, South Africa and Asia-Pacific. It has a large and fast-growing practice in the US, the world’s largest leadership consultancy market, with offices in New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco.
YSC has built a large and diverse blue-chip customer base of more than 400 organisations of which almost 60 per cent are in the FTSE 250 or Fortune 500. Its global clients include Qantas, HSBC, Diageo, GlaxoSmithKline, Tesco, BHP, Li & Fung and BP.
Livingbridge has a successful track record of backing consultancy businesses, having recently invested in specialist financial markets consultancy Catalyst Development, as well as existing investments in clinical service consultancy Four Eyes Insight, global robotic process automation consultancy Symphony Ventures, and procurement consultancy Efficio.
Commenting on the exit, Liz Jones of Livingbridge said:
“We are incredibly proud of what Robert and his team at YSC have achieved throughout our investment. The business has continued to deliver on its global growth ambitions, whilst staying true to its mission of delivering market-leading leadership insight and strategy solutions for its international clients. We feel privileged to have been part of the journey and wish them all the very best for the future.”
Robert Sharrock, Chief Executive Officer at YSC said:
“Our success today has been achieved with Livingbridge’s close support and strategic guidance over the last four years. The business is now in a fantastically strong position and we’re excited about continuing YSC’s journey towards becoming the global number one in leadership consulting”