Lleida/London/Zurich/Paris, December 2024 – Mustard Seed + Partners (“MS+Partners”) is pleased to announce it has agreed to invest into ILERNA, the market leading provider of vocational education in Spain, alongside Jacobs Holding AG and ILERNA’s co-founders Jordi Giné and Virginia Agelet, together acquiring the company from Skill & You, a portfolio company of IK Partners.
This marks the first investment from MS+Partners’ growth private equity fund launched in 2024, fully aligned with its strategy to invest in leading European businesses addressing the world’s biggest environmental and social challenges. As a provider of vocational education, ILERNA helps narrow the skills gap in Spain, promotes equal and affordable access to education, and significantly increases student’s employability, directly contributing toward SDG #4 (Quality Education) and SDG #8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
Founded in Lleida, Catalonia, in 2014, ILERNA is a leading player in the Spanish vocational education space with over 46,000 students. The organization offers a wide range of online courses designed to meet the evolving needs of both students and employers. In recent years, ILERNA has developed a physical presence with 11 centres providing onsite instruction to complement its comprehensive online offering. With the support of MS+Partners and Jacobs Holding, ILERNA will further enhance its educational programs, expand its curriculum, promote advanced technological tools, and extend its physical footprint. ILERNA has been a subsidiary of the French Skill & You Group since
2019. Skill & You was acquired by IK in 2021.
Stanislas de Joussineau, Managing Partner of Mustard Seed + Partners commented: “Spain’s vocational education market has expanded significantly in recent years, driven by demand for training and professional qualifications to tackle unemployment and the skills gap, especially among younger people. Re-skilling and professional education are major policy priorities, benefiting both graduates lacking technical qualifications and non-graduates seeking clearer employment pathways. ILERNA’s courses support learners at every stage, helping them enhance their job and career prospects. We are thrilled to be partnering with Jacobs Holding to support ILERNA’s growth, helping it to expand its innovative education and making its qualifications accessible to an even broader range of students.”
Tim Franks, CEO, and Justin Lewis-Oakes, Managing Director, of Jacobs Holding commented: “We have identified vocational education as a highly attractive sector within the European education landscape and Spain as a highly dynamic market with significant further growth opportunities. The online segment provides access to a broad demographic of students who are able to upskill flexibly around existing life commitments in order to enhance their long-term career opportunities. We are excited to back industry leading ILERNA in its next stage of growth, and to partner with co-founders Jordi Giné and Virginia Agelet, two accomplished and innovative leaders in the space.”
Jordi Giné Llorens, CEO of ILERNA, said: “We would like to thank IK Partners for their continuous support over the past three years. It has been a tremendous journey with a tripling of the size of the group and new campuses in Barcelona, Cordoba, Jerez, Lleida, Madrid, Tarragona, Seville, and Valladolid. We would like to welcome Jacobs Holding and Mustard Seed + Partners on board. They have unmatched experience in the global education sector and will provide further support for our next phase of ambitious development.”
Rémi Buttiaux and Diki Korniloff, Partners at IK, added: “ILERNA’s growth achievements stand as a testament to the remarkable leadership of its management team. We wish them well for their next growth phase and look forward to seeing ILERNA thrive in its next chapter.”
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