Globeducate acquires two bilingual schools in London
Global education group Globeducate has acquired bilingual London schools L'ecole Des Petits and L'Ecole De Battersea. The deal was delivered by professionals from LAVA Advisory.
Globeducate is a K-12 education group, focused on primary and secondary education. With over 60 premium bilingual and international schools, and online programmes, in 11 countries, the group is well-positioned to help ensure the future of the two family run of primary and pre-primary schools.
Founded in 1977 by Nick and Mirella Otten (Officier des Palmes Academiques) on her arrival in the UK, L’Ecole des Petits and L’Ecole de Battersea combine the best elements of the French and English education systems into a holistic, family led environment with excellent results. The London bilingual schools have an 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating and 'Ecole Partenaire' AEFE recognition, and will join a Globeducate’s global network immediately.
Helping to deliver the deal was a team from LAVA Advisory. Engaged by the Ottens to provide a combination of specialist education sector expertise, the team worked to find the right outcome for a business so close to the hearts of its founders.
Nick Otten, co-founder, explained, “The key thing for us was finding the right buyer to protect the future of the school while giving it access to a premium global educational network and financial strength. LAVA’s multifaceted skill set meant they took the time to truly understand what matters to us, our parents and pupils, and managed the entire process to deliver a deal we couldn’t be happier with.”
Over the engagement, LAVA committed to stringent research, while supplying a dedicated deal team, on-hand throughout the process. This helped to pull together a strong data book that answered key financial and commercial questions any prospective buyer might have. Combined with what the firm calls “specialist storytelling expertise”, LAVA’s team demonstrated the strengths of the business to that audience of buyers.
Speaking on the work, LAVA Partner Simon Woodcock said, “From the moment I first spoke with the proprietors and visited the premises I knew that this would be an exceptional opportunity to preserve the legacy of these schools by sourcing a worthy educationalist, as we have been able to do with Globeducate.”
Founded in September 2020, LAVA Advisory Partners was designed to disrupt the M&A industry, aiming to supply new approaches to both dealmaking and teambuilding. The firm recently transitioned to an employee ownership trust.
