Maven exited its investment in WaterBear Education in July 2026 following its sale to School of Arts, a private higher education group focused on performing and visual arts across France and Belgium. The transaction is expected to deliver a total money multiple (MoM) of 3.0x for the Maven VCTs and 1.6x for the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), including an element of deferred consideration.
WaterBear Education is a private higher education college offering Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Master of Arts (MA) degree courses across the creative industries in partnership with the University of Chichester. The Maven VCTs first invested in the business in February 2018, which supported the opening of WaterBear's first campus in Brighton, with follow-on funding provided in 2019 to support the company's continued expansion.
We are delighted to have secured the support of Maven to enable us to open our first campus. Maven demonstrated an immediate understanding of our business model and has been hugely supportive from the outset. We look forward to working with them over the coming years as we strive to redefine the model for creative industry education.
Bruce Dickinson, Founding Director of WaterBear
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