Investment in ICP Education

Oakley Capital (“Oakley”) is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital IV (“Fund IV”) has agreed to invest in ICP Education Holding Limited (“ICP Education” or the “Group”), a leading independent group of UK nurseries.

Fund IV will invest alongside the management team, which is led by Executive Chairman Stephen Booty, CEO Dominic Harrison, and CFO Clare Wilson.

ICP Education is one of the largest nursery operators in the UK, serving nearly 6,000 children at 44 nurseries across England, predominantly in London and the South East. The Group is one of the highest quality large nursery operators in England, with a third of nurseries rated Ofsted Outstanding and 98% rated Outstanding or Good. In addition, last year ICP was ranked as the 14th Best Place to Work in the UK by Glassdoor, across all categories.

ICP Education has achieved a strong track record of growth since its foundation. Enrolments were negatively impacted through UK COVID-19 lockdowns, however the business has quickly recovered to pre-COVID occupancy levels in recent months.

The UK nursery sector is a £6.7 billion market serving an estimated 850,000 children across 15,000 nurseries, most of which continue to be owned and operated on a single-site basis. The market has grown steadily at 4.5% CAGR between 2010-2019 driven by rising female labour market participation and an increasing awareness of the importance of early years education.

Oakley is one of the most active investors in the European education sector. To date, platform investments in the sector have included Inspired Education, a leading global schools group; Schülerhilfe, Europe’s largest tutoring group; IU Group (formerly Career Partner Group), the largest and fastest growing university in Germany; ACE Education, a leading French university group; and Ocean Technologies Group, the leading provider of e-learning to the maritime industry.