Grant Thornton advises The Cegos Group

The Cegos Group is the European leader in Learning & Development (L&D) and one of the world’s largest providers in the sector with annual turnover of over €250 million. Headquartered in Paris, the business has over 1,400 employees, offices in 12 countries and a network of partners in more than 50 countries, training over 250,000 people around the globe every year. Bridgepoint Development Capital invested the Group in 2022.

As part of its strategic roadmap, Cegos identified the UK as a key investment market to grow its offering and presence through targeted acquisitions. We were appointed to carry out full buy-side support from the initial search through to completion of a deal. 

We conducted an extensive market mapping exercise, identifying a long list of 1,000 potential targets which we scored against Cegos’ specific criteria. The list was narrowed to c.20 providers who we then approached and held c.15 discussions.

It was clear from the start of the discussions with Interactive Workshops (IW), a London and New York based L&D provider, that there was a strong cultural alignment and shared focus on quality learning experiences. Led by Jonna Sercombe, CEO, IW specialises in creating engaging and effective learning experiences, primarily in sales and leadership development, for a portfolio of blue-chip global clients.

The partnership provides the platform for Cegos to expand its UK and US operations and for IW to benefit from the network and resources of a large international training provider.

Delivering on our objective, we sourced the opportunity and managed the transaction through to completion, negotiating a deal structure which met with both sides combined goals, setting up the Cegos UK business for continued growth and success.