LDC exits education recruitment firm after four years of growth
Investment firm Quad Partners has acquired a stake in The Edwin Group from LDC after the private equity investor within Lloyds Banking Group completed a three-and-a-half-year partnership with the recruiter.
Based in the US and with an office in Hertfordshire Quad Partners will now help The Edwin Group continue to grow and improve its support for schools, addressing challenges in teacher recruitment and retention.
The Edwin Group works with schools and multi-academy trusts across the UK, providing leaders, teachers, and support staff.
It operates under brands like Vision for Education, ABC Teachers and Smart Teachers and has recruited over 11,000 teaching and support staff in the last year alone. They also offer continuing professional development (CPD) to equip staff with the necessary skills.
LDC supported a management buyout of The Edwin Group from Tes Global in December 2020.
Since then, the group, led by CEO Liam Roberts, has grown through four acquisitions and expansion into new markets. They now work with over 4,500 schools and have opened nine new locations.
Liam Roberts, CEO at The Edwin Group, said: “With the team at LDC’s support, we are now better equipped than ever to meet schools’ and multi-academy trusts increasingly complex needs. Importantly, we’ve been able to grow the business and expand our range of products and services without losing sight of our values or our commitment to excellent customer service. We’re looking forward to embarking on this next chapter, working with more schools and multi-academy trusts, to positively impact the lives of young people.’
David Bains, partner and head of the East Midlands and East of England at LDC, said: “We were delighted to back a team who had a strong vision for an education services business. Almost four years later the same team has created a business that helps schools and multi-academy trusts with their evolving needs and challenges, whilst it has invested in its people, acquired and diversified its services and bolstered its ESG credentials. I wish them every success in the future.”
LDC was advised by Grant Thornton (corporate finance), EY Parthenon (commercial due diligence), BDO (financial due diligence) and Browne Jacobson (legal due diligence).
