Operam Education Group tops £50M revenue with its largest acquisition yet

What's the deal? Operam Education Group, a UK education recruiter, has acquired Lancashire and Hitchin-based Choice Teachers and its Bespoke Education brand for an undisclosed sum. It is the group's ninth and largest acquisition to date, pushing its revenue past £50M.

Choice Teachers provides long-term and daily supply teachers and support staff to nursery, primary, secondary, and further education settings, including special educational needs schools. Its 50-strong team and directors will stay on.

Why now? The deal is part of Operam's 10-year buy-and-build growth strategy. The company has been expanding steadily since its first London acquisition in 2024, and this takeover deepens its roots in North-West England while growing its footprint in the South.

Operam is backed by Three Hills, a private markets investment firm, and BGF, a UK and Ireland growth capital investor. Pablo Velez, partner at Three Hills, said the acquisition "materially increases the scale of the business" and strengthens Operam's position as a leader in education recruitment.

What could go wrong? Integration risk is the perennial challenge with buy-and-build strategies. Operam has now absorbed nine businesses — Provide Education, The Education Specialists, Teachers UK, Key Stage Teacher Supply, First for Education, Bridge Education, Provision Recruitment, Horizon Teachers, and now Choice Teachers. Maintaining service quality and culture across a growing patchwork of brands is no small feat.

The UK education staffing market also faces structural headwinds, including public sector budget pressures and regulatory scrutiny of agency spending in schools.

The signal: Operam's ninth acquisition underscores how private capital is accelerating roll-up strategies in UK education staffing, with Three Hills Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — a specialist bespoke capital provider — backing the group's first deal since its investment. Crossing the £50M revenue threshold gives Operam meaningful scale in a fragmented market, but sustaining that momentum will depend on whether organic growth can keep pace with the acquisition cadence.

Read more: recruiter.co.uk