Warrington-based education provider, Creative Hut, has secured a multimillion-pound investment from Founders Private Capital (FPC) as it targets further international expansion.
The funding will fuel the firm’s ambitious buy-and-build growth strategy, enabling expansion internationally, and accelerating the roll-out of its pioneering STEM learning programmes that include providing education resources and training on behalf of companies.
Established in 2017, Creative Hut partners with global brands including Amazon and LEGO to deliver STEM-based products, resources, and training workshops for schools.
Creative Hut’s work also includes collaborations with education institutions and Premier League football clubs such as Everton and Newcastle United to create modern learning spaces that prepare young people for the future.
FPC is a collection of entrepreneurs who have successfully scaled and exited their own businesses, raising private equity funding along the way. With £87m to deploy in UK founder-led companies, FPC invests between £2m to £15m per transaction, bringing both capital and first-hand experience of growth and scale-up challenges.
Gareth Boldsworth, CEO and founder of Creative Hut, said: “We are seeing significant demand from firms for our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and STEM outreach programmes, designed to prepare young people for tomorrow’s careers alongside delivering purpose-driven community impact.
“FPC quickly identified the core values of Creative Hut in our discussions and aligned with our vision to provide support and infrastructure to accelerate the number of students and teachers we impact worldwide on an annual basis.
“We look forward to working with Ravi Sharma (FPC partner) and the team over the coming years.”
With the minority investment from FPC, Creative Hut will now look to accelerate its impact on students and educators worldwide by investing in new CSR programmes and pursuing strategic acquisitions.
Ravi Sharma said: “We are really excited to work with Gareth and the Creative Hut team going forward. The team have developed STEM education-led CSR service offerings which have unique appeal to large enterprise businesses looking to meet their CSR requirements.
“We have seen some really great traction over the last 12 months and look forward to supporting management in driving growth both in the UK and internationally.”
Advising Creative Hut on corporate finance matters was La Salle Corporate, led by partner Matt Dillon. Vendor-side legal advice was provided by Hill Dickinson, with David Mkhitarian and James Redshaw acting on the deal. Buy-side legal support came from Weightmans, represented by Nick Gray. Financial and tax advisory services were delivered by Arnold Hill, with Justin Moore leading the team.
Matt Dillon said: “We ran a very focused sales process designed to introduce a small selection of parties that we felt would meet the company’s requirements from both a cultural and funding perspective.
“FPC met the requirements and we now look forward to helping both the company and FPC seek further acquisition opportunities in the sector.”
