DC Advisory advised Synova on its significant minority investment in National Education Group

Background

• Synova is an award winning, growth-focused investor working across technology, health and education, business services and financial services
• National Education Group (NEG) is a leading provider of online CPD training for schools and global education institutions
• NEG delivers remote, engaging and expert-led CPD through its three content brands: Essential CPD; The National College; and National Online Safety
• Online CPD is delivered via The National Hub, NEG’s proprietary software platform, enabling users to access content any time, anywhere and helping schools to remain compliant, informed and safe. NEG has over 12,000 schools subscribed and accessing its platform

Process

• DC Advisory (DC), led by James Pople, was engaged by Synova to provide buy-side M&A advice in support of Synova’s investment in NEG, alongside the management team
• In a competitive process, DC provided valuation support, process intelligence and exit analysis, as well as advice on value creation strategies, leveraging sector insights and expertise
• The team worked closely with Synova and its other advisors to validate the investment thesis and provided significant insight in benchmarking the business against its peers

Outcome

• Synova announced its significant minority investment into NEG on Thursday 14 October 2021
• Under Synova’s ownership, NEG will continue to be led by its co-founders Neil Gamewell (CEO), James Southworth (Product & Marketing Director) and Joe Stoney (Sales & Customer Service Director)
• Synova will support NEG and its founders to deliver an ambitious growth plan seeing further investment made into both NEG’s innovative software platform, and its extensive digital content library
• This transaction adds to DC’s extensive experience and strong track record in the education and ed-tech space

“We are very pleased to have completed another transaction in ed-tech and are delighted to have advised Synova. NEG is an exceptional business with strong momentum, and the investment from Synova gives NEG a great partner to achieve its tremendous growth potential. This transaction again underlines our strong track record in the education and ed-tech space.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Neil, James and Joe to help them deliver their growth plans for NEG. Working closely with ambitious founders is central to Synova’s investment philosophy and, through its innovative technology and content production capability, NEG is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the growing market demand for high-quality online training.”