TDR Capital acquires BPP from Apollo's Vanta Education

Harriet Matthews
25 March 2021

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TDR Capital has acquired professional and vocational education provider BPP from Vanta Education, which is backed by investors including Apollo Global Management and US-based Vistria Group.

Vanta Education (previously known as Apollo Global, although the name was unrelated to private equity backer Apollo Global Management) acquired BPP in 2009 for more than £300m. Apollo Global Management and a consortium of investors acquired Vanta in 2017, with Apollo investing via Fund VIII; a vehicle that closed in 2013 on $17.5bn.

According to UK press reports, BPP was initially put up for sale in 2019, but the sale process did not advance.

BPP will operate as a standalone company and will retain its existing management team following the deal, according to a statement.

TDR aims to support BPP in developing its digital capabilities, and its education and training offering, according to a statement. TDR is currently deploying equity via TDR Capital IV. The GP has historically focused on businesses with enterprise values of £150-700m.

The education provision sector has been popular among sponsors in the past six months, with eight buyouts with an aggregate value of more than €971m completed in the sector in Europe since October 2020, according to Unquote Data. Bowmark sold the university partnerships, online learning and languages businesses of Oxford International to THI Investments earlier in March 2021 as part of a split deal, as reported.

In 2020, the sector saw 15 deals with an aggregate value of around €6.7bn, a figure bolstered by large-cap deals such as Providence Equity Partners' €2.5bn sale of Galileo Global Education to a consortium of institutional investors, as well as Permira's $1.5bn acquisition of English language school EF Kids & Teens.

Company
Founded in 1976 and headquartered in London, BPP provides professional and vocational training, ranging from financial services to nursing qualifications. The organisation is particularly well known in the UK for its provision of legal courses, such as the graduate diploma in law (GDL) and the legal practice course (LPC). BPP generated turnover of £18.8m in 2019 and gross profit of £2.8m, compared with revenues of £19.3m and gross profit of £2.5m in 2018, according to its latest publicly available financial statement.

People
BPP – Graham Gaddes (CEO).
TDR Capital – Jon Rosen (partner).
Apollo Global Management – Larry Berg (senior partner); Theodore Kwon (partner).

Advisers
Equity – Kirkland & Ellis, David Holdsworth, Rachel Greenhalgh, Stuart Boyd, Carlos Gil Rivas (legal); Chris Shield, Ambarish Dash (debt advisory); Tim Lowe, Rohit Pisal (tax).
Vendor – Eversheds Sutherland, Glynne Stanfield, Chris Halliday, Nick Swiss; Chris Akinrele, Rachel Soundy, Thomas Pollitt, Matthew Cummings, Catherine Jones, Nathan Lucas (legal).