Palamon, which bought CEG in 2007, will provide £23 million in financing through Royal Bank of Scotland. This will enable a dividend payout for equity holders and support continued growth at CEG which has seen revenues triple in five years.

Dan Mytnik, partner at Palamon Capital Partners commented, “With Cambridge Education Group, we have supported a well positioned company to execute a remarkable growth strategy. The business is on a clear path to continue increasing profitability significantly over the coming years by further developing its teaching capacity and enlarging its footprint.”

The move is yet another sign of the buoyancy of the pathways industry. Palamon said it originally acquired CEG having identified the growing attractiveness of British education to international students.

Since then CEG has seen revenue climb to £55 million and more than quadrupled its student cohort from 460 to over 2,000. The new financing has also enabled the repayment of Palamon’s initial capital plus a return of more than 50%. Palamon and the management team continue to own a significant majority shareholding in the company.

CEO of CEG, Fergus Brownlee said, “With Palamon’s financial and strategic support we have been able to execute an organic growth strategy that has tripled the size of the business in five years. With the additional backing of RBS we now have in place the facilities and capital structure to underpin the next stage of our development. We are delighted to have secured this backing.”