EDI boosts offering with new acquisition
COVENTRY based Education Development International has strengthened its offering with the near £1m acquisition of Taunton-based Sector Training Ltd, which provides a range of strategic consultancy and specialist training services to further education colleges.
EDI, which provides accredited qualifications and assessment services, said it had made a cash consideration of £450,000, which would be paid on completion. Additional cash payments of £450,000 will be made in stages over the next three years. The business will be transferred to EDI’s head office.
The EDI board said it believed the acquisition would strengthen the firm’s presence in the important further education college market and complements other actions taken by EDI in this area over the past six months, including the appointment of Ioan Morgan, previously principal of Warwickshire College, as the company’s further education policy advisor.
Sector Training’s senior consultants work closely with a wide cross section of college leaders and EDI said these links would provide the company with an important opportunity to promote a wider range of services to colleges.
Sector Training was established in 2005 by the sellers, Zbignew Kaczmarczyk, Jim Rawe and a partner who has now retired from the business. Both Mr Kaczmarczyk and Mr Rawe have extensive experience of providing consultancy and training services to colleges, building on their previous experience in senior management positions in further education colleges.
Sector Training runs a programme of around 30 events each year and has provided high level management and funding consultancy services to over 60 colleges in the past 12 months.
Sector Training has a small permanent staff which is supplemented by a network of 20 consultants who have a wide range of experience and specialist expertise in areas including finance, management information systems, curriculum development and strategic planning.
Commenting on the acquisition, EDI’s chief executive, Nigel Snook said: “Sector Training is highly regarded in the further education college sector and the principal consultant, (Mr) Kaczmarczyk, is well known and works closely with a large number of college leadership teams.
“The services provided by Sector Training integrate well with EDI’s existing range, and the network of senior further education college contacts this acquisition brings marks an important point in our strategy to develop EDI’s presence in this major area of the vocational education and training sector.”
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