LDC extendS partnership with The Prince's Trust to support the next generation of entrepreneurs

Leading mid-market private equity firm LDC has more than doubled its commitment to The Prince’s Trust to help young people across the UK to create the leading businesses of the future.

A new five year expanded nationwide partnership with The Prince’s Trust will help up to 10,000 additional young people to start, sustain and grow their own business through an extension of the Enterprise programme. The partnership makes LDC the leading corporate supporter of young entrepreneurs at The Prince’s Trust.

LDC first partnered with The Prince’s Trust in 2019 to support its Enterprise programme, which equips young people with the confidence, skills and funding to launch their own businesses.

The Backing Youth Ambition partnership has so far helped more than 1,600 young people to start their own business and has contributed towards a more diverse group of future business leaders; a quarter of the young entrepreneurs identify as non-white and more than half identify as female.

LDC’s work with The Prince’s Trust has helped the charity to support aspiring young entrepreneurs through the particular challenges of the last two years. Kayleigh Taylor, from Wallsend, North Tyneside, began to turn her dream of running a business into a reality when she approached The Prince’s Trust in 2020 for support to develop her healthy meal prep delivery service, Klee’s Kitchen.

Kayleigh, who suffers from ADHD and left home during her final year of school, started cooking to escape the challenges of everyday life. With the help of The Prince’s Trust, Klee’s Kitchen has now moved into a permanent home in Gateshead and employs one full-time member of staff, two full-time apprentices and four delivery drivers.

Milly Rose, an artist from Hull, began to turn her dream of running a business into a reality when she approached the Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme for support to create a business plan and grow her entertainment-based creative company, Fantastic Faces.

Milly realised art was her great escape when her mental health deteriorated following her A-levels, but she found it difficult to launch her business independently as a single parent. With the help of The Prince’s Trust, Fantastic Faces has gone from strength-to-strength.

Milly now employs 10 staff to help deliver eco-friendly face painting experiences at events, festivals and weddings across East Yorkshire. Milly also creates commission-based artwork and large-scale wall murals, and has won contracts with St Stephen’s Shopping Centre in Hull, and with Hull City and Beverley Councils.

Toby Rougier, chief executive of LDC, said: “We’ve been helping management teams to achieve their ambitions for more than 40 years. By giving young entrepreneurs the tools they need to get started today, we are supporting the world-class businesses of the future. Our work with The Prince’s Trust aligns perfectly with this mission and our heritage.”

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