Private equity firm exits specialist education recruitment group

Private equity investor LDC has announced it has exited a specialist education recruitment group following a successful three-and-a-half-year partnership.

LDC, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, has exited its investment in The Edwin Group to Quad Partners.

The Edwin Group employs a team of education specialists who work nationally with schools and multi-academy trusts to recruit and retain leaders, teachers and support staff.

It is one of the UK’s largest providers of supply teachers to primary, secondary and special educational needs schools across the Vision for Education, ABC Teachers and Smart Teachers brands.

LDC backed the management buyout of The Edwin Group in December 2020 from Tes Global.

The management team, led by chief executive Liam Roberts and the core team of Darren Starling, Will Washington and Fiona Baker, pursued an ambitious growth strategy underpinned by four acquisitions and the expansion of the group’s services.

The business now works with over 4,500 schools across the UK and opened nine new locations.

US-based specialist education investor Quad Partners will now support The Edwin Group on the next stage of its growth journey, as the business continues to broaden its support for schools to address challenges linked to the recruitment and retention of teachers.

David Bains, partner and head of the East Midlands and East of England at LDC, said: “We were delighted to back a team who had a strong vision for an education services business.

“Almost four years later, the same team has created a business that helps schools and multi-academy trusts with their evolving needs and challenges, while it has invested in its people, acquired and diversified its services and bolstered its ESG credentials. I wish them every success in the future.”