LDC's LearnDirect divests e-assessment division to PSI

The transaction comes eight months after LearnDirect, the vocational training provider, lost a High Court appeal against an "inadequate" rating that followed an inspection by UK education regulator Ofsted.

LearnDirect said at the time of the court case that the company's financial performance had been "significantly impacted" by external factors including "successive central government funding cuts", which had reduced revenues by £100m over the preceding three years.

According to publicly available documents, LearnDirect's EBITDA fell from £14.9m in the 12 months ending in July 2015 to £7.5m in the 18 months to January 2017.

The deal forms part of PSI's strategy to increase its activities across the UK and broader EMEA region. The trade buyer already provides tests for the Department of Education and the Home Office.

A spokesperson for LDC declined to comment on the deal valuation, but told Unquote that the GP remains a "supportive shareholder of LearnDirect" and will "continue to work with the management team to take the business forward".

Previous funding
LDC wholly acquired LearnDirect from the UFI Charitable Trust in a deal valued at around £40m in October 2011.

Company
Founded in 2000, Sheffield-headquartered LearnDirect's e-assessment division provides computer-based testing. The company comprises a test centre network, technology platform and call centre. Its clients include the UK Home Office, for which it provides citizenship tests.

People
PSI Services – Janet Garcia (president of international).

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• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• United Kingdom
• LDC
• Trade sale