Teaching Personnel sold in £45m MBO
Teaching Personnel, the UK’s third largest provider of supply teachers and support staff to schools which has offices in Leicester and Nottingham, has been bought by its management for £45m.
Graphite Capital, the private equity firm, is backing the buyout from private equity managers RJD Partners.
Graphite and the Teaching Personnel management team say they plan to develop the business through a combination of organic growth, strategic acquisitions and a broadening of its service offering.
Clydesdale Bank Corporate & Structured Finance is providing acquisition finance and working capital facilities. Graphite has acquired a significant majority stake and the management team is re-investing a substantial proportion of their proceeds in the business.
Teaching Personnel has outperformed the market in recent years with turnover having increased at a compound annual growth rate of 13 per cent between 2006 and 2009.
Graphite has form in the recruitment sector, having backed companies such as Alexander Mann Solutions, a global provider of recruitment process outsourcing solutions; NES, which operates in the oil and gas industry; and general recruitment firms PSD (now named OPD Group) and Huntress.
John Bowman, managing director of Teaching Personnel, said: “We were impressed by Graphite’s track record in the sector and their operating style. We look forward to working with them on our ambitious growth plans in a market ripe for consolidation.”
Graphite senior partner Mike Tilbury said: “Teaching Personnel is a first class business, with a strong management team and an impressive trading performance. It provides a critical service. We believe it has excellent potential for growth both organically through the roll-out of new branches and services, and via strategic acquisitions.”
Mike Tilbury, Mark Hall, Simon Fitch and Mark Hudson managed the transaction for Graphite.
