Dentons advises UBDS on its investment from LDC

London-Dentons has advised UBDS Group (UBDS) on its investment from LDC, the private equity investor that is part of Lloyds Banking Group.

UBDS is a fast-growing enterprise digital lifecycle and cybersecurity consultancy, 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.

UBDS has grown rapidly in recent years, supported by two successful acquisitions in 2024 - Rayo, an AWS consultancy, and 3B Data Security, a cyber security services business.
As part of the transaction, UBDS founder Diptesh Patel is transitioning to a Non-Executive Director role, while Peter Sweetbaum has been appointed Chair. The investment was led by LDC Partner and Head of South, Aylesh Patel, alongside Partner Chris Baker and Investment Manager Ana-Maria Garaba.

Diptesh Patel, Founder of UBDS Group, said: "This investment marks an exciting milestone for UBDS, and we'd like to thank James Davison and the Dentons team for their outstanding advice, responsiveness and support throughout the process."

Alex Gore, CEO of UBDS, added: "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 are hugely grateful to Dentons for their expertise, unwavering commitment and dedication throughout the process."

James Davison, partner in Dentons' UK Corporate team, added: "Having advised UBDS on its acquisitions of Rayo and 3B Data Security, it was a privilege to advise the business once again on this landmark transaction. We look forward to continuing to support UBDS as it executes its ambitious growth strategy with LDC's backing."

The multi-practice Dentons team advising UBDS was led by UK Corporate partner James Davison, supported by Elijah Smith, Daniel Kaye, Nicola Stewart and Kane McCormack. The wider Dentons team included Tax partner Lorna McCaa, consultant and associate Jamie MacGregor; TMT partner Sarah Lima, senior associate Laura Ní Dhruacháin, associate Rebecca Byrne and trainee William Sissons; and Employment consultant Rhodri Thomas. The transaction was also supported by Dentons' India Corporate team, including partner Vinu Peter Immanuel and associates Pranav Shangari, Rajiv Navander and Radhika Jhanwar.

Dentons' Dublin Corporate team advised the senior 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 Dublin team was led by partner Michael McDonald and included counsel Caitríona McNiff, associate Anna Vaughan and Tax counsel Harpreet Chatha (London).

Raymond James acted as lead M&A adviser to UBDS Group. Other advisers to UBDS included Megabuyte (commercial due diligence), EY (vendor due diligence) and Saffery (tax).

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