11th January 2021: Juniper Education, the Horizon Capital backed education software company, has undertaken a significant refinancing with debt provider Muzinich & Co joining existing lender Clydesdale bank to bolster its acquisition chest to £60m.
The funds will help consolidate the company’s position in the fragmented schools software market and enable product development and further acquisitions. Juniper Education appointed Clearwater International as advisers to the transaction.
Formed in June 2019 and backed by a £20 million equity commitment from Horizon Capital, Juniper Education’s SaaS software and subscription services increase the effectiveness of schools, help improve outcomes for learners and create more child-time for teachers.
The company has rapidly expanded through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, reinforcing its ambition to deliver to schools the best software to support effective education integrated with innovative management information and results-driven services all from the same provider. Juniper expects to continue its buy-and-build strategy whilst also investing in innovation and software development.
Gavin Freed, chairman of Juniper Education, said: “Our goal is to make life easier for schools and multi academy trusts by giving them first-rate software and solutions from a specialist education only provider with a pedigree they can trust. We have more plans for strategic acquisitions this year, so with this new financial firepower we are in a great position to achieve our ambition.”
John Clifford, Co-Head UK Private Debt, Muzinich & Co said: “Juniper Education is a progressive company with exciting plans to support schools in their pursuit of advancement and we’re looking forward to helping them enhance and achieve their growth plans.”
Simon Hitchcock, managing partner at Horizon Capital, investor in Juniper Education, said: “The acquisitions Juniper Education has made in the past 12 months have provided a strong foundation to establish the company as a leading software provider in the education market. This additional funding is an exciting development for the organisation and we look forward to continuing to support the management team’s ambitious growth plans.”
For further information and to arrange interviews, please contact:
Louise Everett, The Influence Crowd (on behalf of Juniper Education). louise@theinfluencecrowd.co.uk
Tel: 07855 257927
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Notes to the editor
- Acquisitions by Juniper Education since 2019 include, OTrack, Classroom Monitor, Maze Education, Pupil Asset, FS4S, SISRA and Concentric Curriculum
- Juniper Education was formerly EES for Schools which comprised of Target Tracker software and a range of professional services acquired from Essex County Council.
- For more information about Juniper Education and its broad range of support services for schools, visit https://junipereducation.org/
- For more information on Muzinich & Co visit https://www.muzinich.com. The fund used to support this refinancing is the Muzinich Pan-European Private Debt Fund II.
- For more information on Horizon Capital, investor in Juniper Education, visit https://www.horizonpe.co.uk/
Juniper Education
Juniper Education’s aim is to increase the effectiveness of schools, improve outcomes for learners and give teachers back more child-time. The organisation provides primary and secondary schools with software to bring pupil assessment, attendance, behaviour data and more together into one system. Juniper Education also offers services to support schools with their financial management, teacher training, HR, governance, compliance, and school visits planning. The company is backed by Horizon Capital, a leading investor in high-growth technology and business service companies.
Horizon Capital
Horizon Capital is a private equity investor specialising in technology and service businesses. The firm was established by senior investment professionals who identified a significant market opportunity to invest in businesses in these sectors of up to £50m in value. The partnership prides itself on its approach to helping business owners and managers realise their ambitions. Buy and build is at the heart of every Horizon Capital investment and the firm is a market leader in supporting companies pursuing this strategy. Horizon Capital has a proven track record in generating strong investor returns. The unprecedented growth it delivers in its portfolio companies has been underpinned by deep and long-term investor relationships that span across two decades.
Muzinich & Co. is a privately owned, institutionally focused investment firm specializing in public and private corporate credit. The Firm was founded in New York in 1988 and has offices in London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Paris, Dublin, Singapore, Zurich, Geneva and Sydney. Muzinich offers a broad range of corporate credit funds across both developed and emerging markets and manages over US$37.5bn in fixed income credit assets as of October 31, 2020. Muzinich & Co. has been an investment manager signatory of the UN supported Principles for Responsible Investment since 2010.
