Andrew Colin, INTO's Chairman said, "I am
delighted to confirm today that we have secured this significant
new funding to support the continued development of public-private
partnerships. Today's higher education marketplace continues
to face significant challenges driven by increasing budgetary
constraints. Through public-private partnerships, there is a
unique opportunity to meet the evolving and increasingly complex
needs of universities and their students. In particular, our
goal is to transform higher education capacity, increase access for
well-qualified students, and drive global brand awareness by
enhancing cultural diversity, all while delivering impressive
outcomes for all stakeholders.
"Our unique approach has a proven track record
of providing universities with a secure mechanism to unlock access
to private capital while retaining full control over their academic
standards and brand," he added.
"The INTO partnership model provides
universities with the assets and resources they need to address
market opportunities within a transaction framework that manages
risks, builds brand value and ensures quality outcomes."
INTO will also continue to develop its
infrastructure portfolio, (which has a current investment value in
excess of £200m) with a view to seeding an infrastructure fund
focused on supporting major higher education initiatives in the
United Kingdom, North America and Asia.
This investment marks another major milestone
in INTO's global growth strategy, defined in its manifesto released
in February 2012, which outlines the role the private sector can
play in enabling universities to access resources, expertise and
capital through carefully designed public-private partnerships.
Andrew Colin also said, "We are thrilled to
welcome Leeds Equity as our investor and partner and appreciate
this strong vote of confidence in both our team and business model.
There is a powerful cultural fit between our two
organisations. Throughout our discussions, I was particularly
impressed with their commitment to our vision. We look forward to
leveraging their expertise, strategic insight and resources as we
continue to innovate and grow."
Leeds Equity Partners is a New York-based equity firm that
invests exclusively in the education, training and information and
business services sectors. Its Board of Advisors includes,
among others, General Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State,
and Dr. Richard W. Riley, former Secretary of Education under
President William J. Clinton. It has made a significant
investment in the company, citing its shared belief in the global
expansion of university-led public-private partnerships.
Jeffrey T. Leeds, President and Co-Founder at Leeds Equity
Partners, said: "We are excited about partnering with such an
exceptional team. Andrew Colin, John Sykes and Steven Smale,
INTO's founder directors, have built a successful, impactful
business because they understand the complexities of the higher
education marketplace. We look forward to helping them to
continue to build an industry-leading, relationship-driven model
that helps universities meet their increasingly complex
challenges."
Carter Harned, a Managing Director at Leeds Equity Partners,
said: "In an era of soaring demand and declining public
funding for higher education, INTO, working with its global network
of world-class universities, is a strategic enabler. Its
transformational model, supported by private sector investment, has
already demonstrated its impact to major public universities on
both sides of the Atlantic. This investment will support
those endeavours and, through this model, continue to deliver
exceptional experiences and outcomes to students and innovative
capacity building solutions to great universities around the
world."
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
About INTO University Partnerships
INTO University Partnerships specialises in large-scale
transformational partnerships that support and drive leading
universities' internationalisation goals. Within
university-led partnerships, INTO expands opportunities for
students to pursue higher education, investing in the resources,
systems and processes to deliver a first-class student
experience.
In seven years, INTO has developed partnerships with 16
universities around the world to help them expand access and
transform the quality of the international student experience. The
delivery of exceptional student outcomes is a core feature of the
INTO model.
The company has over 1,350 staff working on INTO projects and
generates annual revenues of £160m. The company estimates that more
than 50,000 students will have enrolled at INTO centres by the end
of the 2012-13 financial year. The investment value of its
infrastructure projects currently exceeds £200m. Projections see
the company more than doubling in size over the next 5 years.
The partnership model provides investment and access to
resources beyond the scope and capacity of individual
universities.
Students benefit from university-designed and delivered
programmes, highly supportive learning environments and
state-of-the-art learning and living spaces while enjoying full
access to their host university's campus facilities, resources and
services. The company currently operates a student recruitment
network with 31 offices in 17 countries.
For investors, INTO partnerships provide access to the fast
growing international higher education market, in a highly
diversified portfolio of leading higher education brands.
In 2011, INTO was named Higher Education Provider of the Year in
the Education Investor awards. It also won the Education
Investor Export Excellence award in 2011 and was highly commended
in the same category in 2012.
INTO China's short-term study abroad courses have been voted in
the world's top ten study abroad experiences by Abroad 101 and STA
Travel.
In the June 2012 I-graduate survey, the international student
polling organisation revealed that three of the top five most
highly recommended higher education operations are INTO joint
ventures.
UNITED KINGDOM
Since it established its first partnership
with the University of East Anglia in 2006, INTO now works in
partnership with nine UK universities. In addition to
international student preparation courses, the partnerships offer a
variety of undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses including
medical degrees with Saint George's University of London and
postgraduate degrees in Diplomacy in collaboration with the London
Academy of Diplomacy.
Tuition revenue from international students
recruited and supported through the INTO network amount to an
estimated £340m alone to UK institutions.
INTO has also developed award-winning
international student centres at the University of East Anglia,
University of Exeter and Newcastle University.
NORTH AMERICA
Establishing its first joint venture with
Oregon State University in 2008, INTO now works with four major US
public universities. The centres in the United States have
set new benchmarks for internationalisation in North America.
International student enrolments at Oregon State University have
grown at seven times the US average and at the University of South
Florida have grown at three times the national average. The
joint ventures in the United States have developed a fully
integrated freshman year for international students.
CHINA
China has recently announced its intention to become Asia's
largest destination for international students. By 2020, they
expect to attract 500,000 international students. Major
Chinese universities are turning to INTO to help them respond to
this challenge. In 2011, INTO launched partnerships with
three of China's leading universities as they seek to extend their
global footprint.
UK Partners:University of East Anglia,
University of Exeter, Newcastle University, University of
Manchester, Queen's University Belfast, Glasgow Caledonian
University, City University London Saint George's, University of
London and Manchester Metropolitan University.
US Partners: Oregon State University,
University of South Florida, Colorado State University and Marshall
University.
China Partners: Nankai University,
Beijing University of Foreign Studies and Dongbei University of
Finance and Economics.
More information can be found at www.into-corporate.com.
About Leeds Equity Partners:
Leeds Equity Partners, LLC, is a New York-based private equity
firm focused exclusively on investing in the education, training
and information services industries (the "Knowledge
Industries"). The firm was founded by Jeffrey T. Leeds and
Robert A. Bernstein in 1993 and has raised and managed more than
$1.1 billion of capital across five funds.
The Board of Advisors of Leeds Equity Partners includes, among
others: Chairman General Colin L. Powell, former Secretary of
State, National Security Advisor, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff; Dr. Barry A. Munitz, former Chancellor of the California
State University school system and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust;
Thomas F. ("Mack") McLarty III, President of McLarty Associates and
former White House Chief of Staff under President William J.
Clinton; Dr. Rod R. Paige, former Secretary of Education under
President George W. Bush; Richard W. Riley, former Secretary of
Education under President William J. Clinton and two-term Governor
of South Carolina; Tim J. Fitzpatrick, the former CEO of Sallie Mae
Corporation; and Timothy P. Shriver, Chairman of the Board of the
Special Olympics.
For additional information on Leeds Equity Partners, see
http://www.leedsequity.com/
For media enquires:
Tim O'Brien
Director, INTO Knowledge
E: tim.obrien@into.uk.com
M: +44 (0) 7912 194744
Picture Editors and other resources - high-resolution images
available here: /en-gb/news/media-library-for-press.aspx