Tyneside educational awarding organisation NCFE has acquired a company operating in the leisure and wellbeing sector.
In an undisclosed deal, the Quorum Park-based firm bought the £3.9m-turnover Active IQ in a move designed to offer a broader portfolio of qualifications for customers. The registered charity said Active IQ, which employs around 40 people and last year posted an operating loss of £591,000, would continue to operate independently.
Huntingdon-based Active is an awarding organisation and 'apprenticeship end-point assessment organisation' (EPAO) focused on qualifications and career pathways in the physical activity and wellness sector. NCFE said its focus was securing the future of the business and ensuring its positive impact on more learners.
David Gallagher, chief executive of NCFE, said: "We’re delighted to add Active IQ to the NCFE portfolio. Both organisations are aligned in vision and purpose - Active IQ, like NCFE, prides itself on exceptional customer service and high-quality, transformational learning experiences that lead to real career outcomes. We chose to make this acquisition given that policy direction and market forces are taking us towards consolidation in the market.
North East estate and lettings agent My Property Box has secured a £300,000 investment as it eyes growth in other regions.
The Darlington-based firm, which recently acquired two neighbouring estate agencies and is also active in North Yorkshire, says it is considering expansion further south into Leeds and West Yorkshire and into Cumbria. The funding from North East Growth Capital Fund Loan Fund Supported by The European Regional Development Fund and delivered by NEL Fund Managers, may be used to act on any acquisition opportunities.
The firm will also use the injection to consolidate its present market position and invest in its services which include sales, lettings, management and investment advice. Having been founded 10 years ago My Property Box employs around 50 people and has a portfolio of 1,600 properties.
Founder Ben Quaintrell said: "The business has evolved over the last decade, but we have always stayed true to the principles on which it was founded by utilising advanced digital technologies to deliver the best possible standards of customer service. We’ve been able to complete a significant number of acquisitions over the last few years that have come along at the right time in the right places for us, and it’s pleasing that many of them have come from rival businesses approaching us about taking on their operations."
Skillion Business Centre, at Langley Moor, has been acquired by an unnamed London investor in a £3m deal. The park, which includes a refurbished multi-let industrial block, yard areas and some small workshops represents an initial net yield of more than 8%.
Chris Donabie, partner at Naylors Gavin Black who acted for the purchaser alongside Sorkin Brown Chartered Surveyors, said: “Thanks to Naylors Gavin Black’s extensive network of property investors across the UK we are able to secure significant investment into the North East, providing a welcome boost to the regional economy and providing excellent returns to our clients. Skillion Business Park was identified as suitable to our client’s requirements given the reversionary potential in the income, multiple asset management angles and the potential to engage further with existing occupiers to improve the income profile."
Jacob Brown, director at Sorkin Brown added: "This acquisition provides an excellent opportunity to add value to and expand our client’s property portfolio. Our client’s strategy is focused on investing in quality office, industrial and retail spaces across the UK and we are pleased to aid them in accomplishing this goal with this reversionary asset with numerous development angles."
Newcastle "pub with rooms" company the Inn Collection Group has acquired a prominent Lake District hotel for its portfolio.
The growing hospitality firm has bought The Wordsworth Hotel in the centre of Grasmere village - a historic venue that has hosted the likes of US President Woodrow Wilson. As the seventh acquisition this year for the £24.7m turnover business, the undisclosed deal means there are now 34 venues run by the group.
The 38-room hotel was first opened almost 150 years ago as The Rothay Hotel having been originally constructed as a hunting lodge for the Earl of Cadogan. It sits in 2.5 acres of grounds next to St Oswald's Church, in the village that William Wordsworth himself called "the loveliest spot man hath ever found".
The Inn Collection Group managing director, Sean Donkin, said: “We are delighted to bring The Wordsworth into The Inn Collection Group. It is a prime site, and we are really excited to add it to our estate. Grasmere is a beautiful village that enjoys a rich history through its connections with Wordsworth and the Heaton Cooper family and this acquisition lets us put down further roots in the community.
A North East firm that sells digital education products has its sights set on the United Arab Emirates market following a management buyout. Reading Solutions UK is now led by Ian Fitzpatrick, who joined the founder Michael Walker not long after the business was launched in 2014. The deal means Mr Fitzpatrick is now managing director of the 30-strong company which offers its online reading development programme Reading Plus to schools.
There are now plans to expand on the 1,000 schools that Reading Solutions already sells to, and target English-speaking schools in the United Arab Emirates. The firm also hopes to secure funding Education Endowment Foundation.
Mr Fitzpatrick, who was supported by dealmakers WilliamsAli Corporate Finance in the transaction, said: "Reading Plus is a unique product. Nothing supports children’s reading fluency like this does, and we see how children are motivated by the gains they make, which they can see for themselves. It’s brilliant to see the child at the back of the classroom who starts using Reading Plus with their arms folded and not wanting to engage as they struggle with reading, to a short time later talking about the book they’ve read with enthusiasm and wanting to choose the next one."
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