Oakley Capital agrees sale of Schülerhilfe to LLCP

24 October 2024

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

Oakley Capital Investments Limited¹ ("OCI") is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Fund III² ("Fund III") has reached an agreement to sell its stake in Schülerhilfe, the leading provider of professional tutoring services to primary and secondary school students across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

OCI's look-through share of proceeds is anticipated to be c.£40 million, which represents an increase of 1 pence per share to the Company's NAV as at 30 September 2024.

Further details on the transaction can be found in the below announcement from Oakley Capital^3.

Oakley Capital agrees sale of Schülerhilfe to LLCP

Oakley Capital, a leading pan-European private equity investor, is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Fund III ('Fund III') has agreed to sell its majority stake in Schülerhilfe to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners ("LLCP"). The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

Schülerhilfe is the leading provider of professional tutoring services to primary and secondary school students across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with over 140,000 students across c.1,200 branches. Oakley invested in the business in 2017 alongside education entrepreneur Dieter Werkhausen, building on the Firm's track record of backing successful education businesses.  

In partnership with Oakley, Schülerhilfe has strengthened its position as a provider of tutoring services for K-12 students in its core markets, by focusing on quality in-person tutoring, complemented by an online offering and language courses for adults.

Oakley helped Schülerhilfe pivot its teaching programme to online when Covid lockdowns kept students at home, before enrolments rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Schülerhilfe's ongoing investment in online has allowed it to sustain hybrid learning, as well as support new technology initiatives, including the highly successful launch of "Kira", an online AI learning chatbot. Meanwhile, Schülerhilfe's expansion into language courses for adults including on-site, online and B2B, has helped grow its total addressable market. More recently, Oakley has supported Schülerhilfe's ongoing expansion within DACH, via the acquisition of fit4school in Switzerland, one of the leading tutoring firms in the country with 34 corporate centres. Today, Schülerhilfe is the clear market leader in the DACH region with 720 of its own corporate centres and 431 franchise centres, making it the third largest franchise network in Germany.

Oakley Capital co-Founder and Managing Partner Peter Dubens said: "Schülerhilfe has succeeded by delivering on an ambitious expansion strategy without sacrificing the quality of its tutoring. Under Dieter's leadership, the business has expanded into new geographies and services, and today is a key partner for students striving for education success."  

Schülerhilfe CEO Dieter Werkhausen said: "At Schülerhilfe we're proud of our record helping thousands of students each year to improve their grades and get ahead in school. We've had a very fruitful partnership with Oakley, and have appreciated their entrepreneurial approach. In particular, we have leveraged their strong M&A track record as well as their expertise in digitisation which together have helped us deliver our strategic goals. Now, we look forward to working with LLCP as we aim to accelerate our growth and reinforce our position as market leader in the DACH region."

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For further information please contact:

Oakley Capital Limited

+44 20 7766 6900

Steven Tredget

Greenbrook Communications Limited

+44 20 7952 2000

Rob White / Michael Russell

Deutsche Numis (Financial Adviser & Broker)

+44 20 7260 1000

Nathan Brown / Matt Goss

Notes:

LEI Number: 213800KW6MZUK12CQ815

¹ About Oakley Capital Investments Limited ("OCI")

OCI is a Specialist Fund Segment ("SFS") traded investment vehicle that aims to provide shareholders with consistent long-term capital growth in excess of the FTSE All-Share Index by providing liquid access to private equity returns through investment in the Oakley Funds.

A video introduction to OCI is available at https://oakleycapitalinvestments.com/videos/. The contents of the OCI website are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

² The Oakley Funds

Oakley Capital Private Equity II, Oakley Capital Private Equity III, Oakley Capital IV, Oakley Capital V, Oakley Capital Origin Fund and Oakley Capital Origin II, are unlisted lower-mid to mid-market private equity funds that aim to provide investors with significant long-term capital appreciation. The investment strategy of the Funds is to focus on buy-out opportunities in industries with the potential for growth, consolidation and performance improvement. The Oakley family of funds also includes Oakley PROfounders Fund III and Oakley Touring Venture Fund, which are venture capital funds focused on investments in entrepreneur-led, disruptive, technology-led companies.

³ Oakley Capital, the Investment Adviser

Founded in 2002, Oakley Capital Limited has demonstrated the repeated ability to source attractive growth assets at attractive prices. To do this it relies on its sector and regional expertise, its ability to tackle transaction complexity and its deal generating entrepreneur network.

For more information on the Oakley Fund strategies in which OCI invests, please click here.

Important information

Specialist Fund Segment securities are not admitted to the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority. Therefore, the Company has not been required to satisfy the eligibility criteria for admission to listing on the Official List and is not required to comply with the Financial Conduct Authority's Listing Rules.

The Specialist Fund Segment is intended for institutional, professional, professionally advised and knowledgeable investors who understand, or who have been advised of, the potential risk from investing in companies admitted to the Specialist Fund Segment.

This announcement may include "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's objectives, intentions, beliefs or current expectations with respect to, amongst other things, the Company's financial position, business strategy, results of operations, liquidity, prospects and growth. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.  Accordingly the Company's actual future financial results, operational performance and achievements may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as at the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect actual results or any change in the Company's expectations with regard to them or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based unless required to do so by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Listing Rules or Prospectus Regulation Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority or other applicable laws, regulations or rules.