Scottish Acquisition

Learning Pool Enters Apprenticeship Market

Brighton (UK), July 2018 - Learning Pool has announced the acquisition of MediaCorp, the Hamilton, Scotland-based online learning and e-portfolio provider. The company, founded and run by James Marshall, will become part of the Learning Pool group.

Speaking about the acquisition, Learning Pool’s co-founder Paul McElvaney said, "We’re delighted to welcome James and the MediaCorp team into Learning Pool. We’ve been impressed at what they have achieved, and I’m delighted to be working with an extended team in Scotland who share our passion for customer service and creating positive business impact.

The apprenticeship market is clearly a growth area, and many of our customers are looking for solutions to help manage the complexity of delivering apprenticeship programmes that satisfy the requirements of the employer levy and help them change the profile of their workforce. This acquisition will help us accelerate our development in this area, and I’m sure our customers will respond positively to that. Having a team on the ground in Hamilton will better support our existing customers in Scotland."

James Marshall, founder at MediaCorp added, "Having the backing of an organisation like Learning Pool will enable the company to do what it does best for our customers – building great eLearning solutions that will make a genuine impact for customers and pushing the boundaries of the dynamic tech landscape.

I’m most excited about the innovation roadmap that Learning Pool is building.  I have no doubt that our customers will welcome the fresh opportunities that AI solutions bring to deliver learning that’s just in time and just enough to help people improve their performance no matter where they are."

This is the second acquisition by Learning Pool in less than two years: the company acquired Mind Click, a leading eLearning company based in Nottingham, in 2016 and now employs over 140 people in Northern Ireland, England, and Scotland.  

Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI), an investment fund sponsored by The Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital Group, is a major shareholder in Learning Pool, having invested in the company in 2016 to support its continued growth and development.