Littlefish: expanding service offering

Founded in 2003, Littlefish is an award-winning enterprise-focused managed service provider. It has offices in Nottingham and Sheffield and employs nearly 700 people.

It has built a leading position in the market through a combination of high-quality service delivery, operational automation, and an organisational structure that enables the business to outcompete the larger, traditional outsourcers.

A minority investment to accelerate growth

In 2019 the business secured a minority investment from LDC to accelerate their growth strategy through investment in new products and services, and in particular expanding its cyber security service offering.

During a three-year partnership with the business, LDC helped Littlefish to almost double revenues from £18.6m to £36.4m in its 2021 financial year.

Welcoming more people into Littlefish

Supported by LDC, Littlefish delivered on an ambitious recruitment programme to more than double its workforce to over 450 people across its Nottingham, Sheffield and London offices. Littlefish also opened its new offices in Sheffield and continued to invest in its people and culture, earning the company 1 Star accreditation in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list in 2020.

Five years and counting

We exited our initial investment in 2022 to Bowmark Capital, and in January 2023, we reinvested for a minority shareholding, to continue our support of the management team’s growth strategy.

LDC was awarded ‘Deal of the Year (above £10m)’ at the Insider East Midlands Dealmakers Awards 2023 for the exit of Littlefish, demonstrating the team’s strong relationships with the East Midlands advisory community.

Littlefish acquired Storm Technology, a leading Microsoft-focused business technology consultancy based in Ireland in 2024, as it accelerates its next phase of growth as it will allow Littlefish to harness new potential in the UK and Irish markets, addressing the growing demand for business-focused Microsoft solutions, while also expanding its customer base in Ireland.