Houlihan Lokey
Houlihan Lokey named Financial Advisor of the Year at EducationInvestor Awards 2025
Houlihan Lokey is delighted to have been named Financial Advisor of the Year at the EducationInvestor Awards 2025.
“This recognition reflects a year of strong momentum for the firm’s dedicated Education Technology and Services team, and is testament to its depth of expertise, global perspective, and long-standing commitment to the sector,” commented Simon Gluckstein, Managing Director. “As demand for high-quality education continues to grow globally, Houlihan Lokey remains uniquely positioned to advise clients navigating this dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape.”
The team draws on expertise from both the global Business Services and Technology groups and has advised on a series of landmark transactions across the early years, K-12, higher education, education technology, and corporate training landscapes.
Among the past year’s highlights was the sale of Ocean Technologies Group to Lloyd’s Register, where we served as the co-lead financial advisor to Oakley Capital alongside Goldman Sachs. This transaction builds upon our market-leading position across the learning and human capital management software sector, as well as in governance, risk and compliance, transportation, and vertical software more broadly.
Previous notable mandates include the sales of RelyOn Nutec to Mubadala Capital, FutureLearn to Global University Systems, The London Institute of Banking & Finance to IU Group, BIMM to ICG, and CPOMS to Raptor Technologies. The firm also advised on the sale of a minority interest in Twinkl to Vitruvian Partners and in Thomas’s London Day Schools to Oakley Capital. Further demonstrating our breadth and cross-border capabilities, we advised on the acquisition of BPP by TDR Capital and Ideagen PLC by Hg Capital.*
With offices across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, the team continues to support the sector’s most innovative operators and investors. Our dedicated education practice is at the forefront of the industry’s shift towards technology-driven delivery, skills-based learning, and international consolidation.
“We are proud to be a trusted partner to some of the most respected education businesses and investors globally, and it is a pleasure to help our clients achieve exceptional outcomes and deliver landmark transactions that make a real impact on the world of education,” said James Local, Managing Director.
“By leveraging our deep senior team, uniquely global reach, and hyper focus on process execution and discipline, we continue to support our clients, not only during transactions, but also as they evaluate and implement their strategic priorities,” added Nana Kyei, Managing Director. “As the industry continues to converge geographically and on business models, we believe our integrated approach continues to be differentiated in the market.”
*Deals included herein represent transactions closed from 2020 forward. Selected transactions were executed by Houlihan Lokey professionals while at other firms acquired by Houlihan Lokey or by professionals from a Houlihan Lokey joint venture company.