A total of five UK independent schools were purchased by Chinese investors last year, according to a report compiled by Venture Education, The Pie News has reported.

Since 2014, 30 schools and their brands have been purchased by Chinese investors and companies.

Most prominent is Bright Scholar, which over recent years has The Guildhouse School, The Worthgate School, Cats Colleges, Bournemouth Collegiate School, Bosworth Independent College and St Michael’s School.

The report stated: “In the independent school sector, there are 11 boarding schools and 19 mixed day schools among the 30 schools surveyed.

“Of all the schools, 68% of the schools are private, and 32% are charitable.”

87% of the schools acquired are located in England, 10% are in Wales and 3% are in Scotland. 23% are in London.

The report explained: “Despite a global decrease in M&A activity, the education sector continued to show growth, experiencing only a modest decline in deal value and a surge in transaction volume”

“According to L.E.K., while 2023 saw an overall drop in M&A activity by 25-30%, the educational sector remained robust, with only a 13% decline, demonstrating its resilience amid broader economic fluctuations.”

The reason for the acquisitions chiefly include demand from Chinese families who have “rising incomes” and “increasing awareness of the importance of education”, coupled with concern about education quality in China.

The reported noted: “Many British schools, particularly independent schools and boarding schools, have a long-standing reputation for academic excellence that is highly regarded internationally, especially by academically-focused Chinese parents.”

A driver for the investors is also a desire for their business to intenationalise. This seems to be true of the 12 investors, which include Access Education, Confucius International Education Group, Achieve Education and Horizon Education.

The report concluded: “These companies are actively expanding their operations beyond China, with investments in UK private schools being a key part of this strategy.”