The sale of the business to TDR will facilitate investment and support BPP’s strategy of providing more students and partners with access to its portfolio
BPP, a professional and vocational education provider with operations across the country, has been acquired by private equity firm TDR Capital.
The sale of the business to TDR, which includes well-known brands such as David Lloyd Leisure, EG Group, LeasePlan and Stonegate Pub Group among its portfolio, will facilitate investment and support BPP’s strategy of providing more students and partners with access to its portfolio of professional courses, apprenticeships and vocational university degrees.
Since 2009, BPP has been part of Vanta Education, a global education network ultimately owned by funds managed by Apollo Global Management and The Vistria Group. TDR is acquiring BPP from Vanta Education.
Following the deal, BPP will be run as a standalone company under the existing management team.
BPP has a 45-year track record providing education for more than 80,000 students each year and training and apprenticeship courses to nearly 7,000 businesses.
TDR’s support will allow BPP to further invest in improving quality, customer experience and satisfaction, bring in cutting edge data science and digital capabilities.
As part of this strategy, BPP looks forward to supporting the UK Government’s efforts to support training and apprenticeship opportunities for young people, and more broadly equip people and companies with skills needed for the future.
Graham Gaddes, BPP chief executive, said: This is a significant vote of confidence not only in our business and our management team, but also its strategy and the long-term future of UK higher education and professional training.
TDR are long-term investors with a strong track record of supporting management teams and investing in businesses to achieve growth. We believe they will prove excellent partners for BPP and we are hugely excited by the opportunity to continue building on our successes and achievements across the whole business, helping thousands of professionals and employers achieve their respective goals, as we continue ‘Building Careers Through Education’, he said.
Jon Rosen, at TDR, added: We have a history of supporting the successful growth of leading businesses across a number of different sectors, combining ambitious growth plans and strategic focus with targeted investment. This is an exciting time to be investing in education, an important sector for the UK and globally, as the need for highly skilled workers continually increases.
Larry Berg, senior partner at Apollo Global Management, said: On behalf of the ownership group, we are pleased that BPP will have a strong, local partner in TDR Capital that will continue to support and invest in the school and its students. We know the company will be in great hands with its new owners.