Back
Lyceum Education Group
Leading international provider of professional and vocational higher education, training and qualifications
Leading international provider of professional and vocational higher education, training and qualifications
Lyceum Education Group is the parent brand for 11 leading specialist education businesses, which encompasses BPP Holdings. Lyceum is a leading international provider of professional and higher vocational education. Lyceum educates around 130,000 learners each year, supporting 11,000 employers. Through recent acquisitions, Lyceum now has an established international presence, with brands including Buttercups in the UK, Sprott Shaw College in Canada and the Australian Institute of Business.
Initial investment
2021
Sector
Education
Initial transaction size
£656m
Prior to our investment, BPP Holdings, now a Lyceum company, had an unrivalled reputation for workplace training, a broad offering of significant scale, a loyal blue-chip customer base and high revenue visibility.
The management team had taken BPP on an impressive growth journey in the three years ahead of our investment yet were held back by BPP’s position as an ‘orphan’ division within a global company.
Early on, we identified two key themes which would drive BPP’s future growth. The first was the need to re-skill the UK’s workforce to improve productivity (the vast majority of funds set aside for training were as yet untapped). The second theme was digitalisation; we believed BPP could do more to digitalise its best-in-class content to access a broader customer base.
In 2026, BPP Holdings became Lyceum Education Group, encompassing an international footprint of brands and programmes, following acquisitions across different regions, including Australia and Canada.
These acquisitions expanded Lyceum’s offering, adding high-growth verticals such as data science, digital and healthcare. In addition, organic content development has further enhanced Lyceum’s offering. The business has diversified revenue sources and can better capture high-demand verticals.
Significant organic growth has been achieved by capitalising on strong macro trends identified early on, including the skills and productivity gaps, demand for real-world skills and the rise of blended and online education.