28 July 2017

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

Inspired welcomes TA Associates as an investor in its next phase of growth

Oakley Capital Investments Limited¹ (AIM:OCL, the "Company") is pleased to announce that Inspired², a leading group of premium schools in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Australia and a portfolio company of Oakley Funds, has received a significant strategic growth investment from TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, comprising both primary and secondary investment.

OCL first invested in Inspired through Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P.'s ("Fund I")³ investment in Educas in July 2013. As Fund I is reaching the end of its life, it has taken the opportunity to exit its holding in Inspired achieving a 3.0x return on its original investment. Fund I offered LPs the option of either a cash or share distribution. OCL and a number of other LPs will retain the majority of their interests in Inspired in order to benefit from the next phase of growth. Oakley Capital Private Equity II ("Fund II")³ has also sold down a small part of its stake in order to facilitate TA Associates' entry into the capital structure. Financial terms have not been disclosed, however the Company can confirm that OCL's net cash proceeds from these transactions will be approximately €10 million.

The addition of such a high quality investor to Inspired's shareholder base, as well as the new investment being made by TA Associates to fund Inspired's continued growth and expansion, is a clear positive for the business and for OCL. Following the transaction, OCL's interest in Inspired, through both its direct investment and through Fund II, is valued at approximately €72 million. This combined with the sell down proceeds will not have a material impact on the NAV per share compared to the December position.

Inspired is a co-educational, non-denominational, independent school group designed to inspire students to achieve their maximum potential in a nurturing, progressive academic environment.  Inspired has grown rapidly by aiming to build new schools and acquire existing successful ones around the world. Inspired currently educates approximately 19,000 students between the ages of 1 and 18. The company has offices in London, Johannesburg, Bogota and Sydney.

Peter Dubens, Director of OCL, commented:

"We are delighted to continue backing Nadim Nsouli in the further development of Inspired.  We believe there is significant scope for further growth and the addition of TA Associates to Inspired's investor base will enable Inspired to realise its ambition of being one of the leading global premium schools groups."

Nadim Nsouli, Founder and Chairman of Inspired, commented:

"I am grateful to Oakley for their invaluable support over the last four years.  Oakley was the lead investor in 2013 when I launched Educas with the acquisition of four schools in South Africa.  Today, we have a leading premium global group of 27 schools and 5 early learning centres under the Inspired group on four continents.  I look forward to working with our new investor, TA Associates, and Oakley as both firms have a history of helping successful businesses accelerate growth."

For further information please contact:

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

+44 20 7766 6900

Peter Dubens, Director

Steven Tredget, Investor Relations

FTI Consulting LLP

+44 20 3727 1000

Edward Bridges / Stephanie Ellis

Liberum Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker)

+44 20 3100 2000

Steve Pearce / Henry Freeman / Jill Li

¹About Oakley Capital Investments Limited ("OCL")

Oakley Capital Investments Limited is a Bermudian company listed on AIM. OCL seeks to provide investors with long term capital appreciation through its investment in Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P., Oakley Capital Private Equity II, Oakley Capital Private Equity III and through co-investment opportunities.

²About Inspired

Inspired is a leading premium schools group in Europe, Australia, Africa and Latin America educating 19,000 students across a global network of 27 premium schools and five Early Learning Schools. Inspired offers a fresh and contemporary approach to education by re-evaluating traditional teaching methods and curriculums, and creating a more dynamic, relevant and powerful model reflecting current attitudes. For more information, please visit www.inspirededu.co.uk 

³About Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. ("Fund I"), Oakley Capital Private Equity II ("Fund II") and Oakley Capital Private Equity III ("Fund III")

Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. and its successor funds, Oakley Capital Private Equity II and Oakley Capital Private Equity III, are unlisted mid-market private equity funds with the aim of providing investors with significant long term capital appreciation. The investment strategy of the funds is to focus on buy-out opportunities in industries with the potential for growth, consolidation and performance improvement.