Steplab raises debt facility from Triple Point in Pelican Capital deal
What's the deal? Triple PointDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a UK investment manager with roughly £2.5B under management, has provided a senior debt facility to support Pelican CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s private equity investment in SteplabDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — a platform that delivers instructional coaching and professional development to schools.
Steplab serves more than 2,900 schools across the UK and internationally, helping them run structured, evidence-based coaching at scale. The financing backs the existing management team and provides capital to grow the platform organically and through selective acquisitions.
Pelican Capital is a UK lower mid-market private equity firm specialising in B2B technology and tech-enabled services. The deal builds on a prior relationship between the two firms, following previous financings including AtechDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Capacitas.
Why now? Steplab has reached a scale — thousands of schools, strong recurring revenues, high retention — that makes it an attractive candidate for private equity backing. The platform helps schools reduce reliance on external consultants, a proposition that resonates as education budgets remain tight.
"Steplab has developed a highly differentiated platform with a compelling value proposition for schools and academy trusts," said Troy Harris-Speid, partner at Pelican Capital. "The business is well positioned to continue scaling in the UK and internationally."
What could go wrong? Edtech businesses face a notoriously difficult sales cycle in the schools market, where procurement decisions are slow and budgets constrained. Scaling internationally adds complexity, as education systems vary significantly across countries. Debt-funded acquisition strategies also carry execution risk if integration proves harder than expected.
The signal: Steplab, classified as an early-growth stage company on Dealroom, is entering its next chapter with private equity and private credit backing — a combination increasingly common for niche B2B software businesses with strong recurring revenues and high customer retention. The deal also underscores Triple Point's expanding role as a repeat financing partner for sponsor-backed transactions in the UK lower mid-market, where speed and certainty of funding can be as decisive as price.
Read more: triplepoint.co.uk
