LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / December 15, 2021 / When London-based husband-and-wife duo Sameer Rizvi and Iryna Dubylovska quit their investment banking jobs in 2015 to start their own investment firm, they had little idea of the success it would become.
(RDCP Group) is a highly acquisitive ‘permanent-capital' investment conglomerate that controls $400 million of investments across multiple sectors and employs 1,850 staff members in the UK. RDCP does not manage third-party investor capital but instead has grown organically through a series of intelligent investment decisions made by Sameer and Iryna over the past six years.
"We had to beg, borrow and steal to pull together our $3.5 million of initial capital back in 2015. Instead of giving an equity share for this capital, we offered a fixed double-digit rate of interest to the handful of friends and family that backed us. This way, we were able to retain 100% shareholding in the group and as well as our future acquisitions. Today, after 6 years of compounding and a total of 18 acquisitions of great British businesses later, this initial $3.5 million has become $400 million," explains Sameer Rizvi, Founder & CEO of RDCP Group.
Berkshire 2.0
RDCP Group is quite publicly modelling their investment business on Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. "We gain inspiration from only a handful of investors and business leaders - Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger rank on the top of that list. Obviously, Berkshire was built in a different era and hence we apply the same rational principles, but we make these principles our own," says Sameer.
Iryna Dubylovska, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of RDCP Group adds that "just like Warren Buffett, we are long-term investors. Our favourite holding period is forever. We have never sold any of our businesses because there is no point in interrupting a cash generative compounding machine."
RDCP Group competes in the same arena as mid-market private equity firms, bidding for businesses that generate between $2 million to $20 million in annual EBITDA. "Entrepreneurs and business owners tend to choose us over private equity buyers for a number of reasons. We are investing our own balance sheet capital, whilst private equity investors are essentially middlemen, investing on behalf of others and just collecting a fee for doing so. Private equity buyers also tend to be focused on ‘exits' as they need to return their investors' capital after three to five years, whilst we have the luxury of providing long-term permanent capital to our portfolio companies," Sameer explains.
"Quite simply, we are investors and not investment managers, and thus we have much more skin in the game than a private equity fund manager. We did not leave investment banking to once again end up working in a short-term focused fee driven business environment such as private equity. Instead, we wanted the freedom to make investments for ourselves and build our very own Berkshire 2.0 right here in the UK," says Iryna.
RDCP Group is making a name for itself in the UK mid-market investment space at a time when there is pressure on private equity firms to reduce their unjustified fees and improve their mediocre returns. Many entrepreneurs and sellers are choosing to partner with RDCP as a reliable long-term investor, one that provides a safe home for their businesses, their staff and their legacy.
Future Plans
RDCP Group has ambitious plans to grow their assets under management (AUM) from $400 million to $1 billion by 2025. "We will continue to invest our growing balance sheet capital into promising British businesses that have a consistent and profitable trading history, committed and ambitious management teams and a defendable and dominant market position within their respective sectors," adds co-founder Iryna.
Sameer says "we remain focused on acquiring undervalued opportunities here in the UK. Buying a company outright, or at least a majority shareholding gives RDCP the power to make all capital allocation decisions. This has been the key to our investment success and the growth of our business, and we see no reason to deviate from this model. We are radically focused on our vision to grow RDCP Group to $1 billion in assets, but flexible about the execution of this vision."
"Ultimately, if we want to be taken seriously as an investment firm, in the UK or the US, we need to control at least $1 billion in assets. We want a seat at the table and we will work hard to make sure we get there by 2025," says Iryna.
About RDCP Group
RDCP Group is a London-based diversified conglomerate that controls $400 million of investments across multiple sectors and employs 1,850 staff members in the UK. Since its inception, RDCP has made a total of 18 investments that have been consolidated into 7 companies.
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SOURCE: RDCP Group