Babington positions for growth with investment from Unigestion

LONDON, UK – 16th December 2022 – Babington, one of the UK’s largest and longest-established apprenticeship and learning providers, today announced investment from Unigestion, the independent specialist asset manager.

At a time when skills represent an essential means to tackle some of the most important social and economic challenges, Unigestion’s investment will help Babington further enhance its services and continue to deliver meaningful customer outcomes.

With a mission to develop better futures for businesses, individuals, and the communities in which it operates, Babington boasts an unrivalled scope of services from apprenticeships and short qualifications to professional training and pre-employment courses – all underpinned by technology, data, and deep learning expertise.

The past eighteen months have seen the business develop and strengthen a clear value proposition and product strategy in response to changing customer needs, with significant investment in brand, partnerships, and products.

Having already secured recent major contracts with leading telecoms, infrastructure, and public sector clients, Babington continues to raise the profile of funded learning as a strategic tool to help organisations attract, develop, and retain talent.

In the last year alone, Babington has supported more than 9000 learners – helping 2500 adults access free adult learning as a direct route to employment, and placing over 800 school leavers into entry-level roles with some of the UK’s top employers.

Investment from the Unigestion’s direct private equity fund, specialising in high-potential mid-market private equity investments, signals an exciting new phase in Babington’s journey.

The agreement, completed yesterday, will see current CEO David Marsh remain in post, supported by existing management, and backed by Unigestion’s global team.

We are delighted to be entering this exciting new chapter with Unigestion. We are committed to advancing the breadth, depth, and sophistication of our services to support customers in a holistic way. Our mission is to help organisations join the dots across their talent strategies whilst supporting individuals to build meaningful careers, and in turn developing better futures for all. In Unigestion we have found a partner that is fully aligned with our values to deliver a positive impact for our clients and to grow sustainably and responsibly.

David Marsh, CEO, Babington

Apprenticeships are integral to addressing skills gaps and improving employee retention at a time when employees’ careers are ever evolving and talent is in high demand. We are thrilled to be partnering with the management team of Babington and support the further investment in products and partnerships, as well as to support a buy-and-build strategy that will propel Babington’s non-levy funded offering.

Pieter-Jan Frederix, Partner at Unigestion