Tribal Group on expansion trail with Clydesdale Bank support

18th March 2014

Bristol-based Tribal Group plc (“Tribal”), a leading provider of technology-enabled solutions to the international education management market, is anticipating further growth this year having secured a major new refinancing agreement with Clydesdale Bank.

The £40m revolving credit facility has been provided by Clydesdale Bank alongside HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group in a three-way partnership. The new facilities will give the group the flexibility and working capital to pursue new international contract opportunities in new growth markets including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, as well as consolidate their position as a leading provider of education management solutions to universities, colleges and schools in the UK.

Tribal provides large-scale education management systems to support education institutions’ day-to-day operations, including its UK market-leading SITS system, which is installed in more than half of the UK’s universities.

Tribal has just announced an 11% increase in turnover, with more than a quarter of its revenue now generated outside the UK. The Group is looking to actively increase its presence in Asia Pacific and North America, and has also just announced the acquisition of Sky Software, a provider of cloud-based student management systems, based in Australia.

Through another recent acquisition, i-graduate, Tribal Group extended its analytics and benchmarking capabilities in higher education, and now works with more than 1,400 institutions in 24 counties to analyse feedback from more than 1.7m students.

The group has successfully applied solutions and systems developed in the UK to become a business which employs more than 1,400 people across five continents, ranging from carrying out school inspections in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, to supplying the New South Wales Department of Education with software to run all of its schools and colleges under a deal worth more than A$100m.

Steve Breach, Financial Director of Tribal Group plc, said:

“Tribal has transformed itself into an international business, which delivers world-class technology-based solutions for education managers. Our strategy brings together organic growth plans in English-speaking markets, together with carefully selected bolt-on acquisitions.

“With this support from Clydesdale Bank and its partners, we are in a position to continue to respond to growing market demand, and remain proactive in the pursuit of new growth opportunities.”

Jamie Stuart, director of corporate banking for Clydesdale Bank in Birmingham, said:

“The continued success and rapid expansion of Tribal Group is testament to the drive, determination and willingness to tap into new opportunities shown by its management team.

“With this new finance package, Clydesdale Bank is proud to pledge its support to the group as it continues to look for opportunities to enter new markets and pursue new acquisitions.”