Thomsett Lockey

The deal map.

Intelligence we gather continuously: 405 verified transactions from 313 acquirers across 35 countries, tracked since 2020, built only from public sources and checked deal by deal.

This public layer shows announced transactions only. It is a map of the market, not a client list. Updated 1 November 2026.

Talk to us about the live map See the latest deals

Recent dealsMarkets watched

405 transactions across 35 countries on the record. Arcs trace cross-border acquisitions. Over the UK, lines run from each acquirer's postcode district to its target's.

Date Target Acquirer Sector
Oct 2026Wellingtons NurseryStrides EducationEarly years
Oct 2026Little Pumpkins NurseriesKindredEarly years
Oct 2026Westfield House ChildcareICP EducareEarly years
Sep 2026Aspiration TrainingVerano Acquisitions LimitedVocational training
Sep 2026DecodedFirst IntuitionCorporate learning
Sep 2026Tech ProfessionalsAquila Energy Group LtdVocational training
Aug 2026CIPHER MEDICAL CONSULTANCY LIMITEDHealth Transportation Group Uk LimitedVocational training
Jun 2026Net NativesEducationDynamicsHE services
Jun 2026Get Set UKPalladium InternationalEmployability
Jun 2026Educational VistasBanyan SoftwareStudent systems
Jun 2026BibliUBlackRockHE services
May 2026MacLachlan CollegeDukes EducationK-12 schools

† Our own mandate on the record: Thomsett Lockey acted for the acquirer, buy-side, on Turing College's acquisition of Boom Training (April 2025), its first strategic acquisition and its entry into the UK apprenticeship market. The rows above are recent named deals from the public layer, no more than three from any one sector, of a record that runs to 405 transactions.

Pending and in-market situations are never published. The live map runs deeper: who is presently active, what they are paying, and why. For that conversation, talk to us.

The read.

182 disclosed deals in the last twelve months.

Between 2 and 28 a month across the last twelve full months, and the buying is concentrated: 260 of 313 acquirers appear once, while a handful of serial buyers run programmes.

Two structural patterns explain much of the flow. Staffing and training are converging, with recruiters buying providers and providers buying placement capability. And awarding is vertically integrating with delivery, because regulatory recognition is faster to buy than to build. Both patterns widen the real buyer list for any owner in this sector.

Read the July 2026 market view
161 deals
North America

The largest single region on the record, ahead of the UK's 141. Europe follows at 46, Asia-Pacific at 26.

Capital across
the value chain

Early years lead at 70 deals, K-12 schools 57, HE services 50, vocational training 49, edtech infrastructure 44, learning content 44.

Serial buyers
set the pace

313 distinct acquirers, but programmes drive volume: the most active name shows 13 deals all-time, 6 in the trailing year alone.