Wed, 02 Jul 2025 | BUSINESS SALE
UK investor exits market-leading, high-growth education services group
Graphite Capital has announced the sale of its investment in Empowering Learning Group (ELG), a provider of mission-critical services to schools, to THI Investments, a pan-European Private Equity investor with a focus on the education sector.
Graphite, an investor in UK mid-sized businesses, backed CEO Mohammed Azam in launching ELG as a start-up, with the aim of building a diversified and tech-enabled education service provider.
From the outset, ELG’s mission was to solve challenges facing schools, in particular behavioural issues in classrooms, which have intensified in recent years, driven by post-pandemic disruption, social media, and growing mental health concerns among pupils. This has reduced teaching time and increased staff attrition, which ELG is addressing with high-quality behavioural management training courses and recruitment support, significantly improving the learning environment and the welfare and academic outcomes of children.
Under Graphite’s ownership, ELG grew from a standing start to generating turnover of £60 million in 2024, driven by expansion of both its training and staffing services in the UK and internationally.
Tony Saade, Partner at Graphite, commented: “We are very pleased with the success of our investment in ELG. We built a market-leading school service provider with a growing international footprint, underpinned by significant investment in technology. Our partnership with Az and the team was built on a shared vision to help address the significant issues faced by schools in their classrooms. We are confident that ELG will continue to fulfil its mission of positively impacting children’s education and well-being.”
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Under Graphite’s ownership, the group developed and launched Team Teach Connect, a customised ed-tech platform providing proprietary content for educators. Connect also allows schools to manage training courses and teacher accreditation.
Mohammed Azam, CEO of ELG, commented: “Empowering Learning Group is at the forefront of solving classroom challenges. Our services have a strong and demonstrably positive impact for our customers in the education and health & social care sectors – not just in the UK, but in many countries around the world. A big thank you to Graphite, who have been an invaluable strategic and investment partner since day one. Their clear vision and unique understanding of our sector have been instrumental to our success.”
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