College of Law launches strategic review and eyes potential sale
The College of Law has launched a strategic review which could ultimately lead to the sale of one of the UK's top law schools. The College, which was incorporated as a charity by Royal Charter in 1975 and is overseen by a board of governors, is in the process of reviewing its strategic options, it has been confirmed. News of the College's review was first revealed by legal website RollOnFriday. A sale would mean that the College, which has a turnover of around £75m, which would lose its status as a charity.
September 02, 2011 at 07:10 AM
3 minute read
The College of Law has launched a strategic review which could ultimately lead to the sale of one of the UK's top law schools.
The College, which was incorporated as a charity by Royal Charter in 1975 and is overseen by a board of governors, is in the process of reviewing its strategic options, it has been confirmed.
News of the College's review was first revealed by legal website RollOnFriday. A sale would mean that the College, which has a turnover of around £75m, would lose its status as a charity.
The College's main competitor BPP became part of a plc in 2009 when it was taken over by US-based Apollo Global – a joint venture between Apollo Group and private equity house The Carlyle Group – for £300m.
The two law schools have come to dominate the upper reaches of the UK's vocational legal market after striking a string of bespoke training deals with leading commercial law firms over the last decade. As such, the outcome of the review will be closely watched by the legal profession. A sale would also mean that a second private company would gain degree-awarding powers in the UK alongside BPP.
Chief executive Nigel Savage (pictured) told Legal Week: "Higher education in general and legal education in particular are global and we need to be extending our reach in the developing global regional hubs, particularly in Asia – building on our existing relationships and forging new ones."
However, Savage stressed that a sale is only one of a number of options the College is exploring, including forging new joint ventures with universities and commercial players around the world.
A spokeswoman for the College added in a statement: "The governors are currently undertaking a strategic review, as it is only right that the College considers options for its future development in light of exciting opportunities presented by changes in higher education."
One legal education veteran commented: "Unwinding a registered charity such as the College in the case of a sale is a huge undertaking and finding a potential buyer will be even harder. Apollo can be ruled out because of competition issues, as are Kaplan Law School's owners. Other global players such as Pearson or LexisNexis may well take an interest considering the College's profitability."
"City firms with exclusive tie-up agreements with the College won't care either way as long as the institution continues to be properly managed. BPP and Apollo have had some bad press in recent years, but this hasn't hampered its success in the UK."
The institution recently underwent a restructuring that resulted in several relocations of existing staff as well as a number of voluntary redundancies. Originally, the process had seen 20 full-time roles placed under review.
For more, see Is the College of Law really up for sale?
- Click here for an extended analysis of the state of legal education
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