Browne Jacobson’s strengths in advising education investors, businesses and institutions on corporate deals has been recognised at the EducationInvestor Awards 2026.

The UK and Ireland law firm won the Legal Adviser of the Year – Deal-making category at the annual ceremony, held at Hilton Park Lane hotel in London on Thursday 18 June. 

It followed a stellar 12 months of education transactions, with deal volume rising by 20%, and for the broader education practice, which posted its fifth consecutive year of double-digit percentage growth in 2025/26.

Browne Jacobson’s education practice is ranked Band 1 in schools and academies in every region in the Legal 500 and nationally in Chambers. It comprises more than 100 specialists of lawyers, HR professionals and supporting professionals advising the full range of clients – including schools, trusts, universities, colleges, local authorities and corporates supplying the sector.

Nick MacKenzie, Head of Education at Browne Jacobson, said: “Winning this award reflects the extraordinary breadth and depth of what our team has delivered over the past year. 

“Education is a sector that exemplifies our ambition to support clients working at the forefront of society’s biggest issues, but it’s not one that can be advised from a distance. We understand how schools, trusts, colleges and universities operate, the regulatory pressures they face and the direction the sector is heading. 

“That embedded understanding allows us to deliver corporate advice that is not only technically excellent but genuinely useful to our clients and their investors. I’m proud of every member of our corporate team who has contributed to this recognition.”

Landmark education transactions 

Leveraging a strong base of public and private sector expertise, Browne Jacobson’s corporate team has obtained new mandates – including cross-border instructions from international sponsors – while retaining existing relationships and acting as day-to-day adviser for education clients that have progressed through secondary and tertiary buyouts to mid-cap US and European private equity funds.

Among the private equity (PE) funds and corporates active in the education sector it advised in 2025 were Apiary Capital, Palatine, Quad Partners, Strive Capital, Stonepeak and Naxicap.

Corporate deals included private equity-backed buy-and-build strategies spanning EdTech, workforce, skills and training, SEND staffing and vocational education. 

The team also advised independent school clients on acquisitions, disposals and mergers, and university clients on capital projects, commercial disputes and research commercialisation projects. In addition, the firm supports more than 200 academy projects annually, consistently tracking at 20% market share. 

Notable education sector transactions in 2025/26 included advising Quad Partners-backed The Edwin Group on its acquisition of specialist SEND recruiter Axcis Education; Eureka Education, backed by French PE firm Naxicap Partners on its acquisition of Knovia Group, one of the UK's foremost apprenticeship and vocational training providers, from Sovereign Capital Partners; and UK PE firm Apiary Capital on several deals including bolt-on acquisitions for national accountancy training provider First Institution and digital learning and compliance training provider LearnPro Group. 

Matthew Dorman, Corporate Finance Partner who advises on education transactions, said: “The transactions we have completed over the past year demonstrate just how much the education investment market has matured. 

“We are advising some of the most sophisticated PE funds and corporates active in the sector on genuinely complex, high-value deals – from cross-border acquisitions to concurrent buy-and-build programmes.

“But what truly sets us apart is the position we occupy in the market as the connector between private and public sector organisations that no other firm can replicate within education. This broad understanding across both sides of the market is what our corporate clients keep coming back for, and it is what makes our advice genuinely distinctive.”

The EducationInvestor Awards success marks the second piece of outstanding recognition for Browne Jacobson’s education practice this week. Philip Wood was named Associate of the Year at The Lawyer Awards for his role in tackling the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) crisis.