BPP sold to private equity house TDR Capital

BPP has been sold to private equity house TDR Capital, in what is the educational provider’s first change in ownership since 2009.

BPP, which provides legal education and training, as well as courses in accountancy and finance, had been owned by Vanta Education, previously known as Apollo.

Founded in 1992, Apollo Global acquired BPP for £368m in 2009 and owned it through a period of radical change in which the institution eventually secured university status, though the process was not without turbulence. It was put in the market in the summer of 2019, although initially no buyers were found. Last August, its degree-awarding powers, previously temporary, were granted indefinite status under the Office for Students’ new regulatory framework.

The sale comes at a time of change in legal education, with BPP and its traditional rival the University of Law facing challenges from new entrants to their market following the introduction of the new Solicitors Qualification Exam.

The law school has also found itself embroiled in a number of embarrassing disputes with students in the pandemic year. In July 2020, a group of students on the Legal Practice Course and the LLM voiced their disquiet over BPP’s actions during lockdown, writing an open letter to the law school’s Vice Chancellor in which they demanded a partial refund of their fees “based on the period of time students were unable to use BPP facilities.” Then in March 2021 the unexpected renovation of the Holborn campus sparked outrage among law students paying a premium for studying in London but unable to use the facilities due to Covid-19.

BPP’s new owners, TDR Capital, own a number of leading brands, most notably ASDA. The deal was agreed last year for nearly £7bn with the Issa brothers, while TDR’s other brands include David Lloyd Leisure and a recent bid for Aggreko.

Kirkland & Ellis, which has advised TDR on its most recent transactions, led on the BPP acquisition too. The team was led by partners David Holdsworth and Rachel Greenhalgh, along with associate Nick Appleton.

Graham Gaddes, the CEO of BPP, said: “This is a significant vote of confidence not only in our business and our management team, but also its strategy and the long-term future of UK higher education and professional training.”

Source: The Lawyer