Derry’s Learning Pool put up for sale by its equity backers

Online learning company Learning Pool, based in Derry, has been put on the market by its private equity backers for around €160m, it has emerged.

The business, led by founder Paul McElvaney, received investment of £20m from Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI) five years ago.

But the value of the business has sky-rocketed in recent years, with online learning tools even more sought-after in the pandemic.

According to market intelligence website Reorg, CCI has now hired American investment bank Baird to find a buyer.

According to the Sunday Times, which reported on the proposed deal quoting Reorg, the price tag will be around €160m.

Representatives for Learning Pool and Carlyle, a global equity fund, said “Learning Pool does not comment on rumour or speculation, and so does not have anything to say in relation to the Reorg or Sunday Times reports”.

And a spokesman for Cardinal, an Irish private equity fund, said it had no comment on the report. Mr McElvaney also did not return a request for comment.

Carlyle Cardinal Ireland is a joint venture between Carlyle and Cardinal. It’s understood the Learning Pool deal will be one of the final transactions by the joint fund.

CCI’s aim has been to identify companies with strong growth potential, helping them grow then exiting after around four years.

According to Reorg, online learning has been an active sector for deals in the last year, including the sale of Capita’s Education Software Solutions.

Learning Pool has made a series of acquisitions following CCI’s investment, including OHT2 Labs in Oxford in 2019 and US firm Remote Learner in 2020.

The company reported revenue of £18.1m (€15m) in the year to April 30, 2020, an increase of around one-third. It also gained around 200 new clients over the period, including Center Parcs and Unicef. It has 800 customers in total, and around 200 staff.

During the year, it made pre-tax profit of £3m, up from £2.8m. Its company report said it had continued to be cash generative during the year, and had not furloughed any staff during the pandemic.

Paul McElvaney set up Learning Pool at the kitchen table in 2006, “bootstrapping” the business through growth in the UK market.

It started with an initial team of five, including his wife Louise

The company provides end-to-end online training for big organisations, creating everything from the software that operates the platforms to the actual content.

Its biggest customers are those with more than 1,000 staff and big customer-facing functions - like the NHS and other governmental organisations.

Speaking to the Irish Independent in February, Mr McElvaney said the CCI investment had been transfrormative.

“Having that has been fantastic - we actually did our first acquisition within six months of CCI coming in, a deal we probably should have done 18 months earlier. It changes your appetite but also your management capability.

"The business has grown by a factor of four since 2016 and done four acquisitions, so they are here and helping but as founders we still get to call the shots.”

Online Editors