A business which operates international schools for local and expat families has received a minority investment from BGF to support the group’s global growth plans.
Headquartered in Manchester, Orbital Education said BGF’s backing will be used to unlock further growth opportunities in new and existing markets through opening more schools and expanding its proposition around the world.
The group was started by serial entrepreneur Kevin McNeany, best known as the founder of Nord Anglia Education, which he led to an IPO in 1997 and is now one of the world’s largest private education business.
Orbital Education schools specialise in the delivery of English national curriculum for children between ages 2 and 18, leading to globally recognised qualifications for its diverse student population.
The group has grown to ten private international schools across seven geographies, including China, Ecuador, Qatar, Russia, Hungary, Slovenia and Spain.
It has also won multiple awards for exceptional growth and international sales, culminating in the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade, earlier this year.
The investment will also bring influential education entrepreneur Rees Withers, founder of Cognita, to the board as non-executive director.
Cognita is an international education group with more than 70 schools which Withers led through several rounds of private equity ownership.
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Kevin McNeany, founder and chairman of Orbital Education, said: “We are delighted to join forces with BGF. We chose them as partners because of their unparalleled experience in supporting the growth of companies like Orbital Education and also uniquely, because of the team’s understanding of the international school sector.
“In addition, their patient approach is ideally aligned to the long-term investment required to bring new schools to maturity. Our growth has been excellent in the ten years since foundation but doubtlessly, it will now accelerate with the strength and energy of BGF alongside us.”
Harry Jones, an investor at BGF, added: “Orbital Education is a fantastic business with a proven and highly entrepreneurial leadership team. The teaching of the English curriculum is recognised globally for its quality and Orbital Education has successfully exported this to attractive overseas markets where demand for international schools of this calibre is high.
“The business has grown rapidly in recent years and we look forward to supporting Kevin and the team with their new school expansion plans. The prospect of partnering two real pioneers of the sector was a major attraction for us. The business is also a real success story for the North West, having expanded across the globe from its Cheadle HQ.”
Recent investments by the north west office include Speke-based loading systems manufacturer, Joloda International, and further funding for web hosting company Miss Group which ranked at number 15 in this month’s Sunday Times Tech Track 100, which lists the 海角视频’s fastest growing technology businesses.
The investment was led for BGF by Neil Inskip and Harry Jones.
The advisers to the transaction were: Addleshaw Goddard, Paul Medlicott (BGF), DLA, James Kerrigan (Orbital Education), EY, Stephen Woodhouse (tax due diligence), John O’Kane (financial due diligence).