Ten Education Limited / Isfield Investments

Cavendish is pleased to announce the sale of The Key through a management buy-out backed by the family office, Isfield Investments.

The Key is a pioneering digital knowledge management and event company providing professional information and support to senior teachers and governors in the UK. The Key was started in response to a government initiative in 2007. Since then it has grown to become a well-run, sustainable business which serves a membership of nearly 50,000 school leaders and governors in over 9,000 schools. The Key provides these school leadership teams with information and guidance in response to their questions, data insights, conferences on topical issues and magazines.

Cavendish was appointed to sell the business in 2013 and managed a process involving a number of strategic buyers and financial investors. Isfield Investments emerged as the preferred investor due to the valuation they placed on the business, their close alignment with management’s strategy and their scope to make available additional resources to back management’s plan to further improve and expand the services offered by The Key to its members.

Andrew Jeffs, Partner for Business Services at Cavendish, commented:

“The Key is a shining example of a wider trend in the economy where entrepreneurs are embracing digital technology to deliver services in more flexible and efficient ways. This approach creates truly scalable businesses which are currently of great interest to both trade and financial buyers.”

Alex Cheatle, founder of The Key commented:

“Since its launch, The Key has grown into a wonderful business in its own right led by a talented and pioneering team, committed to supporting improvement in school leadership. In exiting the business, it was important to me that it be at the right price for the shareholders and to an investor who recognised the unique character of The Key and was committed to its future success.

I believe the sale to Isfield Investments achieves this and the Cavendish team have been with us every step of the way.

“TC Group have a fantastic business model and brilliant management team, which combined with Inflexion’s sector and M&A experience, puts us in a great position to help accelerate its already impressive growth. We look forward to working with the team to seize the market opportunity together.”

Malcolm Coffin, Partner and Head of Enterprise Fund at Inflexion

“We are delighted to have found a perfect match to drive the growth of the Company we founded in 2005. After a rigorous sale process, we have no doubt that Davidson Kempner/Pithos Capital will continue to develop the Company as the UK’s largest independent self-storage provider and we look forward to following its progress.”

The finnCap Cavendish team, led by Nehal Patel, did a fantastic job, running a truly competitive process and managing the transaction with great skill. They were instrumental in delivering this deal and the successful outcome.”

Keith Taylor and Cathy Taylor, Co-Founders, UK Storage Company Ltd

“The finnCap Cavendish team did a great job of running a competitive process to establish the best transaction options available for our stakeholders. They were instrumental in delivering the Talan deal and were a pleasure to work with.”

Alex Goody, CEO, Gemserv

“The finnCap Cavendish team has achieved a truly outstanding result for our Shareholders. Their knowledge of our business, the sector and the buyer landscape, as well as their commitment throughout to the process, was critical to our success.”

Steve Beckitt, Founder-CEO, SourceBreaker

“I could not be prouder to be joining the Otonomo team. This is a big, bold step that brings us closer to our vision of safer and smarter mobility for all. Our clients and partners, some of the leading insurers of the world, will have access to a significant and unique set of data products, tools and resources to help them compete and thrive in a connected new world ahead.

We really appreciated Cavendish’s excellent advice, their understanding of the business and getting the best outcome for the company by driving the process.”

Aldo Monteforte, CEO of The Floow

Over the last 16 years, we’ve grown to become the biggest search firm in the world dedicated to executive search in sports and entertainment, working in partnership with brands and wonderful clients across more than 20 countries and in every major sports league. Today, we join with Excel, enhancing our ability to see our clients achieve their fullest potential both on and off the field.

The finnCap Cavendish team played a critical role in helping us to secure the right partner and home for our business. The team’s recruitment sector expertise and commitment throughout the deal was second to none, I would have no hesitation in recommending them to other business owners considering M&A.”

Paul Nolan, Founder-CEO, Nolan Partners

“I have loved working with Andrew, Ben and Hugh at Cavendish! Hamilton Fraser is more than just a company to me. For me to sell, any deal had to deliver value but also see the business find a great new home. Cavendish always listened and provided their advice on these points and how best to achieve what I was looking for. I am delighted to have found the perfect partner in GRP with their support.”

Eddie Hooker, CEO, Hamilton Fraser

“We are delighted with the support received from the finnCap Cavendish team throughout this process. Mike and the team ensured that we prepared meticulously, identified the right pool of potential investors and worked closely with us, the management team and our legal advisers to deliver a great outcome for the Shareholders. We wish the Intelling team and RDCP all the best in their next phase of growth.”

Karl Cockwill, Portfolio Director, NVM

“This transaction is a hugely important step in the company’s development, strongly positioning the business for its next phase of growth, allowing us to meet the growing need for secondary school students to learn in an independent, fluid and remote manner.”

Anthony Coxon, Co-Founder, GCSEPod

“Cortland shares our core values and our customers focus, and their additional resources will help us accelerate our growth in the UK market.”

Nigel Burnand, Managing Director, Qdime