ABOUT ANGLO ACADEMIC

Anglo Academic is a specialist educational advisory firm with a presence in both the UK and Hong Kong. The company was established in April 2017 by Bruce Kirk, a former Goldman Sachs portfolio manager who returned to the UK after a 25 year career in the Asian Asset Management industry based in Japan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. Our firm specializes in helping British and Asian education providers create and structure robust, mutually-beneficial win-win international partnerships.

The internationalization of high-quality British education has created a lot of interest in the sector in recent years. A large number of British education providers are currently looking for ways to expand their presence overseas and there are many Asia-based corporates, real estate developers and investors who are looking to partner with these British institutions and tap into this growing interest in top-tier British-style education in Asia. However, it is estimated that only 1-in-10 of these educational partnership discussions make it beyond the Memorandum of Understanding stage and actually achieve their goal of a successful school, kindergarten or product launch. Failures are incredibly costly for both sides in terms of legal fees, due diligence costs, travel expenses and numerous other business development outlays.

 We have seen that failed negotiations that  can cost each side anywhere from £50,000 to well over £500,000 per deal in total expenses. Moreover, these estimates do not even include the opportunity cost of investing significant time, resources and energy into an ultimately unsuccessful project which can lead to disappointment and disillusionment on both sides. Each year millions of dollars in legal fees are spent unnecessarily by education providers in the UK and Asia on deals and partnerships that just never materialize. We believe that there is a far more efficient and mutually-beneficial way for potential partners approach these type of discussions and negotiations.

 Our role in the investment process is to help structure deal road-maps, action plans and strategy documents that ensure from the outset that each partner really understand the objectives, the motivations and (perhaps most importantly) the limitations of what the other side can bring to the partnership. This also ensures that any potential problems or difference in  expectations are flagged early in the process before both sides have racked up substantial costs. We believe in creating reasonable win-win objectives for both sides that maximize the chances of a deal becoming a long-term success. We firmly believe that it is only partnerships that are built on long-term mutual trust and respect that will create true value in the sector.

 To avoid any conflicts of interest, we only act for one side in each transaction and our payment structure ensures that our interests and those of our clients are in complete alignment. We only succeed if you succeed. We have a collective multi-year track record of deal-making in the region, we understand how the negotiation process works in various different Asian markets and we know when to tell of our clients to proceed with discussions and also when to walk away from the negotiation table before incurring significant costs.

If you are either a British education provider looking to expand into Asia or an Asia-based potential partner looking to identify a British counter-party to help you expand your local presence in the education sector, please get in touch to arrange a telephone consultation.

 [email protected]

    ABOUT ANGLO ACADEMIC

    Anglo Academic is a boutique investment advisory firm with a presence in both the UK and Hong Kong. The firm was established in April 2017 by Bruce Kirk, a former Goldman Sachs portfolio manager who returned to the UK after a 25 year career in the Asian Asset Management industry based in Japan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. Our firm specializes in helping British and Asian education providers create and structure robust, mutually-beneficial win-win international partnerships.

    The internationalization of high-quality British education has created a lot of interest in the sector in recent years. A large number of British education providers are currently looking for ways to expand their presence overseas and there are many Asia-based corporates, real estate developers and investors who are looking to partner with these British institutions and tap into this growing interest in top-tier British-style education in Asia. However, it is estimated that only 1-in-10 of these educational partnership discussions make it beyond the Memorandum of Understanding stage and actually achieve their goal of a successful school, kindergarten or product launch. Failures are incredibly costly for both sides in terms of legal fees, due diligence costs, travel expenses and numerous other business development outlays.

     We have seen that failed negotiations that  can cost each side anywhere from £50,000 to well over £500,000 per deal in total expenses. Moreover, these estimates do not even include the opportunity cost of investing significant time, resources and energy into an ultimately unsuccessful project which can lead to disappointment and disillusionment on both sides. Each year millions of dollars in legal fees are spent unnecessarily by education providers in the UK and Asia on deals and partnerships that just never materialize. We believe that there is a far more efficient and mutually-beneficial way for potential partners approach these type of discussions and negotiations.

     Our role in the investment process is to help structure deal road-maps, action plans and strategy documents that ensure from the outset that each partner really understand the objectives, the motivations and (perhaps most importantly) the limitations of what the other side can bring to the partnership. This also ensures that any potential problems or difference in  expectations are flagged early in the process before both sides have racked up substantial costs. We are focused on creating reasonable win-win objectives for both sides that maximize the chances of a deal becoming a long-term success. Our firm believes that it is only partnerships that are built on long-term mutual trust and respect that can create true value in the sector.

     To avoid any conflicts of interest, we only act for one side in each transaction and our payment structure ensures that our interests and those of our clients are in complete alignment. We only succeed if you succeed. We have a collective multi-year track record of deal-making in the region, we understand how the negotiation process works in various different Asian markets and we know when to tell of our clients to proceed with discussions and also when to walk away from the negotiation table before incurring significant costs.

    If you are either a British education provider looking to expand into Asia or an Asia-based potential partner looking to identify a British counterparty to help you expand your local presence in the education sector, please get in touch to arrange a telephone consultation.

     [email protected]

      Education is one of the highest priorities in Asian society. Asia therefore wants more high-quality schools. The British education system is highly reputed in Asia so many Asian parents value British influence in their children’s education.

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