Babington Group announces the acquisition of Acorn Training Consultants

Babington Group announces the acquisition of Acorn Training Consultants, part of the International Charity Rehab Group.

Babington Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of apprenticeships and skills training is delighted to announce the acquisition of Acorn Training Consultants, who for more than 18 years have been helping people across Derbyshire and the North East unlock their potential.  The acquisition further strengthens the Group’s portfolio and supports the ambitious plans for growth in the skills and training market.

Head office based in Derby, Babington provides apprenticeships, traineeships and skills training to learners and employers from its twelve training centres across the UK and from their employers premises. Babington specialise in providing training in the fields of accounting, finance, business administration and Leadership & Management, together with high growth subject areas such as digital media and marketing.

Acorn Training Consultants were part of the international charity, the Rehab Group, providing services focused on employment preparation. Acorn Training Consultants very much support their still local community, operating throughout Derbyshire and focus on supporting local people of all ages.

The acquisition was led by Adrian Fantham, CFO at Babington Group, who are owned by RJD Partners, the UK Private Equity investor and supported by the management team

Carole Carson, CEO, Babington Group said, “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Acorn Training Consultants, Acorn has a fantastic reputation in the industry and fits our strategy for continued growth. Our ambition is to partner with businesses that supports our growth plans and provide opportunities to expand the business in different areas and ultimately enable us to change the lives of more and more young people.  Acorn Training Consultants will certainly compliment and extend our current offering; providing an enhanced portfolio to our clients”.

Acorn Training Consultants has learning centres within Derbyshire, their dedicated teams deliver a number of learning programmes for young people aged 16+ which support their progress on to further education, or in to work with learning. They deliver a range of adult learning courses, designed to help people develop and enhance their skills, find a job and progress in their career. 

Acorn Training Consultants work with many employers throughout Derbyshire providing training and apprenticeship programmes for their staff.

About Acorn Training Consultants: For more than 16 years Acorn Training Consultants have been helping people across Derbyshire and the North East unlock their potential.  Acorn have learning centres throughout Derbyshire that deliver a number of learning programmes for young people aged 14-19, which support their progress on to further education, or in to work with learning. They also deliver a range of adult learning courses, which help people develop their skills and understanding, find a job or progress in their career, and they work with hundreds of employers providing training and Apprenticeship programmes for their staff.

Acorn take pride in outstanding outcomes including 85% of our customers progressing into a positive outcome, (employment, education or training) and over 90% of our learners achieving their qualifications and certificates.  There employability services are focussed on achieving long-term employment outcomes for all of our customers, and help people to recognise their skills and abilities, build on them and apply them to the labour market. For more information visit http://www.acorn-training.com

About Babington Group: Babington Group are a Work-Based Learning Training Provider, founded in 1974 that provide high quality training within Accounts, Business Administration, Customer Service, Providing Financial Services, Team Leading & Management.  Always at the forefront of innovation, Babington is a pioneer of the Apprenticeship programme, with the first Accountancy Apprentice in the country and the first Insurance Apprentice in the North of England. For more information visit babingtongroup.co.uk

About RJD Partners: RJD – a three point summary

• We are an equity investor specialising in buyouts, buy-ins and development capital deals worth up to £50 million.
• We invest in growth companies in the services and leisure sectors, based in the UK.
• We seek to back ambitious management teams who have a clear plan for business growth.

For more information visit www.rjdpartners.com