Cambridge Education Group (CEG), one of the UK’s leading pathway operators, is to expand globally, making its first foray into international markets with new programmes in Boston and Amsterdam. The news comes after the company’s recent announcement of major success and recapitalisation – tripling the size of the business in five years.
Opening in September 2012, ONCAMPUS Boston is a partnership with three of New England’s most respected universities – Wheelock College, Southern New Hampshire University and Rivier College – and the pathway programme will prepare international students for the second year of a US degree course.
The Amsterdam FoundationCampus, also launching in September, is a partnership with the “world top 100” University of Amsterdam (UvA), offering progression to UvA’s Faculty of Economics and Business. Both partnerships are part of the company’s FoundationCampus portfolio, which has 11 partnerships with education institutions in the UK, such as Goldsmiths and the Royal Veterinary College.
CEO of CEG, Fergus Brownlee, said: “Both partnerships will continue our commitment to providing quality outcomes and strong pastoral care for international students in highly attractive study destinations.”
Brownlee said the company now planned a new phase of “growth and global expansion”
One of the UK’s “G5 pathway operators”, CEG had to date restricted its operations to the UK, where it has various school and college brands, and caters to 13,000 students each year. However, Brownlee said the company now planned a new phase of “growth and global expansion”, albeit with a “measured, quality over quantity approach”.
“We predict growth in our pathway and high school operations, and we will be working closely with our network of agents and key recruitment markets to identify the most suitable territories for new ventures,” he said. CEG has announced further partnerships in coming months.
Brownlee told The PIE News that the company was “actively looking” at setting up a high school in Boston which would mirror its CATS colleges in the UK – a market he said offered significant opportunity. CEG is also hoping to launch a new English language college in Cambridge, UK – having recently opened schools in London and Brighton – and to acquire another language school business abroad.
The company is “actively looking” at setting up a high school in Boston
The plans are part of ongoing growth at CEG, which has seen revenue climb by 25-30% annually since it was bought by the private equity company Palamon Capital Partners in 2007.
“I think this is testament to the growth and to the speed at which we’ve generated the sorts of returns that private equity-backed investments are targeted to make…” Brownlee said. “We’ve grown very fast, we’ve grown very well, we’ve got it right.”
