The European education market comprises businesses that engage in providing private education, professional training and tutoring services. Identified assets offer their products and services physically, digitally or through a combination of both. We segmented the European market into: (i) private education, (ii) professional education and (iii) tutoring & training.

The European landscape has a fragmented nature, characterised by larger players only capturing low single-digit market shares in a specific geography or niche and a vast number of SMEs. The main source of consolidation stems from financial sponsors aggregating niche players with specialised offerings to create holistic value propositions. As such, further consolidation can be expected across the board, especially in the private education segment where players are on the verge of capturing significant market share from public institutions. 

Sponsor-led interest has been significant, with ~72% of identified European assets being backed by investors (May 2023). Investors attempt to capitalise on (i) high consolidation and synergy potential through M&A, (ii) established entry barriers (e.g. reputation), (iii) high revenue visibility with shortened cash collection cycles as well as (iv) attractive revenue growth and profitability margins. On the other hand, the abundance of online educational content (e.g. freely accessible courses), compliance with ever-changing regulations and local hurdles in internationalisation represent the main detractors for investors.

ESG topics are primarily rooted in social challenges. Social issues revolve around providing accessible education to both the general public and professionals, thereby aiming to eradicate inequalities stemming from social classes, gender and racial backgrounds. Education players attempt to tackle these challenges by offering high-quality educational services, utilising scholarships to address educational inequalities and collaborating with government bodies to subsidise programme costs.