HEADS & GOVERNORS
LOOKING THE FUTURE IN THE EYE:
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Effective management of the strategic direction and development of schools has never been so critical as in today’s COVID-impacted world. Barney Northover and Kenji Batchelor from law firm VWV offer some thoughts on how mergers and acquisitions can provide shelter to some schools and innovative and attractive solutions to others.
M
uch has been made of C acting as both disruptor and accelerator. Since March 2020, independent schools have changed and adapted in ways we would have previously thought impossible. They have navigated their way through multiple loc downs, delivered remote teaching and met new regulatory re uirements. nd, all the while, they have sought to balance their boo s in many cases, in the short term, introducing temporary fee discounts and ma ing use of the furlough scheme. ut notwithstanding the hope offered by the arrival of effective vaccines, more challenges lie ahead. The impact of the recession on pupil rolls remains un nown. This means difficult decisions on T will need to be made. The threat of tax changes lingers as politicians seek to balance the nation’s
finances. rexit will also have an impact on the ’s relationship with mar ets. The issue of the affordability of education in the sector also continues to loom large. Schools need to remain vigilant and manage their situation carefully.
Changing with the times
chools have always needed to change with the times in response to shifting demand for, and supply of, an independent education. There have always been mergers, acquisitions and disposals of schools and there are a very many success stories. ven before the financial difficulties induced by the C crisis, it was increasingly seen as a good strategy to join with other schools within a group. We have seen this in the state sector, where academies have been encouraged to federate in ulti cademy Trusts, and in our own sector we have seen the growth of local and national
groups of both commercial and charitable schools. One of the drivers for this trend is the need to take advantage of economies of scale and offer protection from financial shoc s of the type we are now experiencing.
It takes courage for leaders and governors to initiate the conversation n the current crisis, many governors and proprietors will now be considering whether their school should join with others. This could be either to ensure their own survival or to offer shelter and protection to other schools, particularly those which are feeders or complement their own school’s educational mission.
Winter 2021 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 15
