August Equity has completed an investment in Minerva Education, the first investment through its new fund, August Equity Partners III.
Minerva consists of Eaton Square School Group (ESS) and Ravenstone School.
ESS, founded in 1981, is a highly sought after London-based schools group with sites in Chelsea, Pimlico, Belgravia and Knightsbridge. ESS currently has over 650 pupils on roll and has recently completed buildings works to enhance capacity across the group.
Ravenstone, founded in 2007, offers pre-prep and prep education from two excellent locations in South Kensington and Marble Arch. The schools have over 100 pupils on roll and capacity to add additional pupils.
Minerva plans to create a leading operator of independent day schools offering an outstanding private education. The group is being led by an impressive management team with a track record in private equity-backed education businesses and is led by Tommy MacDonald-Milner, CEO, Elaine Simpson, chairman, and Catherine Robertson, finance director.
Aatif Hassan, partner of August Equity, says: “We are delighted to complete our first investment in the education sector and particularly to do so with the investment in Minerva, which is a highly regarded schools group in London with a reputation for its pupils attaining outstanding results. We have tracked the progress of ESS and Ravenstone for a number of years which enabled us to complete an off-market transaction. We look forward to working with the management team to develop the schools and ultimately create a market-leading education provider.”
MacDonald-Milner says: “I am thrilled to be working with August Equity to help deliver our vision of creating a group which will provide the highest quality of education in a traditional style to all pupils, allowing children to maximise their potential and achieve the best possible outcomes.”
