Operam

Founded in 2017, by resourcing specialists Eddie Austin and Andrew Frome, Operam Education Group is pursuing an ambitious buy-and-build strategy. It aims to expand across the UK, to support its mission of creating capacity in the classroom and alleviating staffing challenges in the state-funded education sector.

With backing from BGF and HSBC, the group acquired Teachers UK and The Education Specialists in 2019, and more recently, Lancashire-based Bridge Education Recruitment, among others. Across three funding rounds, we invested a total of £7 million into the business, to support this acquisitive growth strategy.

Throughout our five-year partnership, Operam completed eight acquisitions, establishing the brand as one of the pre-eminent education recruitment groups in the UK. Hear from CEO Eddie Austin, as he explains why BGF was the right choice to power Operam’s buy-and-build strategy.

We exited our investment in 2024, generating a 2.5x MM return for BGF. And with Operam now entering ‘phase two’ of its growth plan, private markets investment firm Three Hills has acquired a significant minority stake in the business. We re-invested alongside them, to continue supporting Operam, as it expands its footprint and develops new service offerings for the education market.