GEDH

Private Equity Manager (GP)

Case study

About the company

Headquartered in Paris, GEDH is a leading player in the private higher education sector in France.  With close to 300 employees, serving approximately 12,000 students, it delivers certified graduate programmes and specialised masters and post graduate degrees in subjects such as communication, artistic and cultural management, journalism, design, cinema, animation and software coding. The company owns nine schools that are spread across 25 campuses in France and beyond.

Investment rationale

• GEDH operates in a market that is experiencing sustainable, long-term double-digit growth. The company has a healthy financial profile with recurring and visible revenues, strong profit margins and an asset-light business model.
• There are significant barriers to entry due to regulatory constraints and the expertise, track record and reputation which are required to attract students.
• Recently, the business has been executing a buy-and-build strategy through the acquisition of schools with similar academic offerings. It has deployed its brands across 11 further campuses in France, accelerated the roll-out of new education programmes and strengthened its organisational structure.

Our relationship

Pantheon invested in Five Arrows’ latest fund and holds an advisory board seat. Furthermore, PIP has also invested alongside Five Arrows in a manager-led secondary.

Active management and value creation

Five Arrows has been tracking education and training businesses in this space as part of its thematic sector coverage and has already completed two deals in this area. The private equity manager has significant internationalisation and M&A experience that can help unlock the next phase of growth for GEDH. The company has already identified a number of bolt-on acquisition opportunities.