Nous Group acquires Cubane Consulting to create leading global higher education services business

International management consultancy Nous Group (@NousGroup) has acquired Cubane Consulting, a world-leading provider of higher education benchmarking services through its collaborative UniForum program, to form an authoritative higher education service business operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

For more than a decade Nous has worked with many of Cubane’s UniForum clients supporting them to achieve transformative change. This acquisition will ensure the consultancy is ideally positioned to advise the full breadth of UK universities as they emerge from the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic and seek to reimagine their structures and priorities in a highly competitive market.

In these increasingly uncertain times universities are realising they need to change significantly and to do this quickly. Combined, Nous and Cubane can provide a seamless and strengthened service moving from benchmarking insights to benefits realisation more rapidly, with less disruption and more certainty.

Tim Orton, the Founder and CEO of Nous, and Edward Curry-Hyde, the Founder and Group Managing Director of Cubane, said they and their teams were excited by the opportunity this presents to bring deeper and broader expertise and more international insights to their clients in the UK., as well as expand the business further into Europe and the United States.

Tim said the acquisition would build on Nous’ existing strength in higher education consulting.

“Nous is committed to the transformative value of education, so we are constantly looking to grow the quality and range of work we do at all levels of education – and in particular in higher education. Learnings from our work in Canada, and in Australia in particular, offer our suite of UK clients fresh perspective and understanding, which is critical for institutions looking to evolve and gain a competitive advantage.” Tim said.

“As the UniForum program is the most comprehensive, detailed and unparalleled benchmarking service currently available, Nous’ acquisition of Cubane represents an exciting opportunity for us to help our university clients globally to act on Cubane insights and improve their performance.”

Edward, who will remain as CEO of Cubane, said the acquisition ensured that Cubane and the UniForum program is well placed to grow and further develop its benchmarking offer and services to clients.  

“We believe there will be substantial benefits for Cubane clients who choose to then work with Nous through needing less disruptive data collection, less reinvention of insights, and quicker progress to conclusions and benefit realisation,” Edward said. “UniForum will be even more valuable if clients also have access to Nous’ expertise to help shape and implement their improvement programs.”

Nous’ scale and expertise will allow Cubane to accelerate development of its benchmarking offer to benefit existing and prospective clients. Nous envisions: 

• Accelerating development of the current UniForum product in areas that simplify the data collection or add value to the collected data such as through strategic planning apps that use UniForum data
• broadening benchmarking for universities into areas including academic activity, student experience, campus utilisation and non-salary expenditure
• growing in current geographies and potentially in new geographies
• exploring other sectors in which Nous has expertise.

Nous Group will retain its current identity and Cubane will now refer to itself as a Nous Group company. There are no job losses associated with the acquisition.