Council-owned NEC Group, the Birmingham-based exhibition centre operator, is to be acquired by private equity firm LDC for £307m.
LDC, which is the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, is buying the group’s businesses in a deal involving the long-term 125-year lease of the NEC site, and 25-year leases on the ICC and Barclaycard Arena.
The NEC site, which opened in 1976, attracts four million visitors a year to its concerts, conferences and the Crufts dog show.