RJD completes first exit from its second fund
with the sale of Teaching Personnel

RJD Partners ("RJD") has sold its investment in Teaching Personnel, the specialist teacher recruitment business, as part of the buyout of Teaching Personnel announced today by Graphite Capital, which has backed John Bowman as Managing Director.

The transaction values Teaching Personnel at £45 million, giving a return to RJD of approximately 3x its original investment. Teaching Personnel is the first realisation from RJD’s second fund, RJD Private Equity Fund II.

RJD backed the £24 million management buyout of Teaching Personnel in July 2007.

The business was founded in 1996 and is a leading provider of supply teachers, teaching assistants and nursery nurses, both short and long term, to schools throughout England and Wales. It operates through a national network of 32 branches (an increase from 23 branches when RJD originally invested), where recruitment consultants provide a proactive and quality service to the schools in their local area.

Under Mark Weavis, Managing Director at the time of the buyout in 2007, Teaching Personnel has achieved significant success and consistent growth.  Mark transformed the business from an exclusively call centre based service by developing the branch network and a market leading in-house IT system, Evolve.  Mark became non-executive Chairman in March 2009 when John Bowman joined the business as Managing Director and John has begun the implementation of his strategic plan to drive the business forward to the next phase of its development.

Richard Caston, Partner, RJD Partners comments: "The sale of Teaching Personnel represents the first exit for RJD Partners from our second fund, RJD Private Equity Fund II. 

"Having originally invested in the business through a management buyout in 2007, we have enjoyed supporting an exceptionally strong management team in growing Teaching Personnel and we have been delighted with the performance of the business under our ownership."

Mark Weavis says: "We have enjoyed working with RJD to establish Teaching Personnel as a leading provider of recruitment solutions to schools in England and Wales.  The market however remains highly fragmented and there remain considerable opportunities for the business to grow further. The company is well placed for the next phase of its development in partnership with a new financial backer."

RJD Partners and the other shareholders of Teaching Personnel were advised by teams led by Paul Newell at Clearwater Corporate Finance LLP (corporate finance advice); Peter McLintock at Hammonds (legal advice) and Doug MacLeod at HMT (tax advice).

The contents of this news release are intended for information purposes only. RJD Partners Limited does not provide investment advice and we strongly recommend that before making any decision to invest or engage in any investment activity, you should obtain proper professional advice. See our full terms & conditions.  RJD Partners Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the conduct of investment business in the UK. RJD Partners Limited is registered in England and Wales No. 04245768. Registered office: 8/9 Well Court, London EC4M 9DN.