Melrose Education, a special educational needs platform backed by private equity firm Innervation Capital Partners, has acquired Highgate Hill House School in Devon.

Highgate Hill House School provides education and care to children with social, emotional and mental health needs aged 5 to 16 years.

Melrose was launched by Innervation in September 2021, with the aim of building a group of special educational needs and alternative education schools in England. The platform was provided with £17.5 million of committed capital from a group of investors which had previously co-invested with the firm at ICP Education.

In January 2022, OakNorth Bank provided growth capital to Innervation to support the aggregation strategy of Melrose. The business started to

Melrose has completed five acquisitions to date, investing £22 million of capital. In addition to Highgate Hill House School, the other acquisitions comprise Orchard Education, an independent special school in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire; Break Through School in Belvedere; The Learning Centre in Bromley; and the Rowan School in the West Midlands.