GFH Financial acquires K-12 operator Britus Education's UAE, Saudi schools

Dubai: Schools in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states continue to generate strong investor attraction, with the GFH Financial Group buying Britus Education. The latter, a K-12 schooling provider, has two educational facilities in the UAE, four in Saudi Arabia and one in Bahrain.

The Britus Education's overall school capacity in these markets adds up to 12,000 students, of which 8,000 are currently enrolled. (In Dubai, Britus owns Sheffield Private School.)

For the Britus deal, Bahrain-headquartered GFH inked the agreement with Saudi Education Fund, which is managed by EFG Hermes.

Britus has a market value of more than $200 million. "This Investment is expected to reflect positively on the group’s financials and increase the returns for the group," said GFH Financial in a statement. 

There has already been a handful of big-ticket deals in the local K-12 space, the most notable being the one for GEMS by a consortium led by the global investment firm Brookfield. Also, DFM-listed Taaleem signed up with the British school operator Harrow to bring its brand to the UAE.

"There will be lots more entries and exits in the UAE and Gulf education space," said an analyst. "All you need to do is look at the expanding resident base in these markets and see the investment potential."

New schools are being added across the board, with Abu Dhabi's Aldar Education being another prominent name.