Irish ELT outfit ATC Language and Travel has been partially sold to UK Language Courses in what has been described as a “strategic alliance”.
Ed Greevy, long-time owner of the business, made the decision to sell his shares to the UK language school operator – prompting the search to find the “right business partner”.
“I am convinced we have found the right organisation in UKLC.
“Our cultures, approach and values fit perfectly together so we’re confident this is a hugely positive move for the future of ATC,” Colm O’Byrne, managing director at ATC said.
Greevy said despite his departure it “means a lot to me to see ATC going from strength to strength”, as he has been unwell for some time and wanted someone who could “provide more support to the ATC team”.
The UKLC group has had multiple acquisitions of late, acquiring Linguastay based in Chester, and Deva English in recent months.
Our cultures, approach and values fit perfectly together
Colm O’Byrne, ATC
While this is an acquisition on paper, there are currently “no plans to merge operations between the UK and Ireland”, or between “any of the group organisations” like ATC.
“We are honoured to be joining forces with such a well-respected company that has a long-standing place in the Irish ELT market. As soon as we started to talk with Ed, we could see how well our values and outlook fit together,” Céline Aloé, CEO of UKLC, said upon the announcement.
O’Byrne retains his own shares in ATC and will stay on as managing director of the company, UKLC confirmed.
As well as acquisitions, a partnership was announced between UKLC and Wycombe Abbey school for operations of its UK summer school.
The partnership will also work on an English language summer school operation in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, dubbed Camp Beaumont Asia.
“The ambition is to create a group of companies that retain and look after their great people, loyal customers, established brands and uniqueness, then work together to open up new opportunities,” Aloé added.
Greevy took the opportunity to thank O’Byrne as his business partner in the announcement, and said he was “very excited to see what the future holds” with the merger.