BPP Education Group makes key higher education acquisitions across North America and Australia

Acsenda School of Management, founded in 2004, is one of Canada's most highly acclaimed institutes of management studies, located in the business district of Vancouver. The well-established private post-secondary institution has its own degree-awarding powers and offers bachelor's degrees in business administration and hospitality management to international learners from over 40 different countries.

Arbutus College, established in 2002, is an international college also located in Canada, offering over 30 courses across subjects including marketing, hospitality, international trade, and business management. Its range of diplomas and placement programs focuses on developing technical and professional skills to apply in the workplace. Collaborating with key employers in Vancouver, Arbutus recruits learners from over 20 different countries.

The US Partnerships recruitment business recruits top quality international students into a number of prestigious and highly regarded US universities. The acquisition of US Partnerships and its global recruitment team adds a new dimension to BPP Education Group's existing European portfolio and will provide increased connections to both international students and a long-established network of universities.

CIC Higher Education, established since 2012, is a private higher education institution based in the heart of Melbourne. It provides both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in subjects including accounting, business, and information technology. Its highly qualified faculty is focused on equipping international students from over 40 countries with the conceptual knowledge and skills to implement in their careers in the workplace.

BPP is delighted to be increasing its international footprint by establishing its presence in Canada and Australia. Alongside the UK, both regions are the fastest growing countries in the world for high quality education, providing outstanding career prospects for learners. Canada ranks number one in the world for adults with a first degree or higher and welcomed over one million international students in 2023, a growth of 29% from the year before. Australia ranks only behind Norway as having the best quality of life in the world, with its sophisticated infrastructure, excellent student services and comparatively affordable cost of living. In 2023, Australia welcomed 704,000 international students.

BPP Education Group's support and commitment will allow the individual entities to accelerate their growth trajectory, whilst further investing in improving quality, customer experience and course offerings to serve the growing demands of learners across the globe.

Building on BPP Education Group's recent acquisitions of Estio Training, Firebrand Training, Digital Marketing Institute and Buttercups Training, these latest global acquisitions offer new student destinations and underpin BPP's focus on delivering a broader portfolio of programs to provide more learners and clients with access to professional courses and apprenticeships across the globe.

Graham Gaddes, BPP CEO, commented, “The acquisitions of Acsenda School of Management, Arbutus College, the US Partnerships and CIC Higher Education introduce both new regions and new disciplines into our portfolio. We are seeing an ever-increasing demand from international students looking to study overseas. The acquisition of these businesses will allow us to facilitate that transition and strengthen the relationships for students, delivering on our vision of building careers through education. The highly experienced teams at Acsenda, Arbutus, the US Partnerships and CIC Higher Education are a great cultural fit for BPP, and we look forward to welcoming them into the BPP Education Group.”

Joff Allen, EduCo's CEO commented, “We have been fortunate to work with Graham and his team for some time now and are excited to be joining the BPP organisation. We believe that BPP's culture, expertise, success, and vision align very well with the institutions and operations that we have built over the last 14 years.”

Houlihan Lokey advised BPP/TDR Capital on the acquisitions.