Major investment in Derry IT firm

Pictured announcing the investment are (l-r): John Dolan, Managing Director, Cardinal Capital Group, Paul McElvaney, CEO, Learning Pool, Jonathan Cosgrave, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group.

Derry-based Learning Pool now employs 80 people servicing clients in the UK, Ireland and internationally. Every day a community of 1.25 million learners across 350 companies and government bodies uses Learning Pool’s products and services to meet compliance requirements and drive performance improvement.

It was announced this morning that the major private equity fund Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI) has now invested in Learning Pool. The Derry based company enjoys a significant presence in the UK market where over 80% of local councils use Learning Pool for effective staff training.

The financial terms of the investment announced today have not been disclosed.

Founded in 2006 by CEO Paul McElvaney, Learning Pool’s award winning technology and training catalogues are used by a range of companies in both the public and private sectors. Customer organisations include the NHS, the UK Houses of Parliament, Jury’s Inn, Capita, and British Sugar.

Learning Pool’s decision to partner with CCI was driven by the fund’s global contacts and strategic experience in growing similar sized companies. The investment from CCI will help Learning Pool continue to build out the team and develop new, innovative products to serve existing customers and attract new ones. Learning Pool’s existing management team, including CEO Paul McElvaney, will continue in their current leadership roles and are investing further as shareholders in the business. Jonathan Cosgrave and John Dolan from CCI will join the board of directors of Learning Pool.

Paul McElvaney, CEO, Learning Pool said: “We have always believed in Learning Pool’s potential to take on the world and have doubled our business over the last three years. In CCI we believe we have exactly the right partners to help us develop our business and help us realise that potential. This investment will fast track our growth and allows us to build out our technology and content at a quicker pace for our customers benefit. I’m excited about the next phase of Learning Pool’s growth that will see us deliver more product innovation and significant expansion of our customer base and our team.”

Jonathan Cosgrave, Managing Director, The Carlyle Group said:

“Learning Pool is well positioned to continue growing its share of the estimated £675 million UK e-learning market. We’ve been impressed with Learning Pool’s innovative technologies, quality of service and the entrepreneurial leadership team, and we look forward to supporting further growth of the business. We’re also delighted to complete our first investment in Northern Ireland and we continue to look at other potential investments in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.”