2024
Innova Capital acquires majority stake in Tutore group
Innova Capital has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Tutore group, Poland's largest private education platform operating under the eTutor, ProfiLingua, and Tutore brands. The deal also included the acquisition of two companies - International Language Institute (ILI) and ESL Brains. The investments were made under the recently closed Innova/7 fund. Together, the companies plan to further expand the group's reach and offerings, providing high-quality learning and skill development solutions for children and adults, including services for individuals and companies.
Tutore is currently the leader in the Polish private education services sector, delivering its services in an omnichannel model. The company has achieved a unique position in the market thanks to strategic acquisitions made in 2022, which enabled the creation of a complementary business serving both consumers and businesses. Since then, the group has operated under three brands – eTutor, a leading language learning app, ProfiLingua – Poland's largest network of online and offline language schools, and Tutore, which offers classes and tutoring in various subjects and areas of interest. In total – with the cooperation of more than 2,000 teachers – it has so far served a wide user base, including 355,000 active learners and over 2,300 B2B customers within 60+ courses. Its offerings include not only diverse language courses for children and adults but also engaging educational programs designed to develop critical thinking, creativity, innovation, and collaboration skills through an interactive and hands-on approach to learning.
Innova Capital, in close cooperation with the founders of the company and CirCap fund, which is also a group’s investor, will aim at further strategic growth of Tutore's business both in the Polish market and abroad. To this end, Innova plans to apply its know-how and experience in scaling service businesses and to support Tutore in strengthening synergies between its brands, including the proper integration of newly acquired companies. First of them, International Language Institute, is focused on providing cutting-edge solutions and online language courses for businesses. ESL Brains, on the other hand, offers an online platform for English teachers and tutors from around the world, where – in subscription form – they gain access to substantive, regularly prepared materials that can be used during work with students.
Thanks to these two acquisitions made as part of the transaction, Tutore will not only strengthen its existing position in the private education market in Poland, but also gain the potential to become the largest provider of B2B language courses in the segment, with great prospects for international growth and expansion of its offer to new languages. The company also wants to invest further in the implementation of modern technologies and tools based on AI. One of these is the development of a “virtual teacher” that will support the work of trainers and tutors as well as the students’ progress.
“Tutore already has a unique position in the Polish private education market. Together with its founders and the CirCap fund, we intend to seek further growth opportunities for the company, including in other European markets. Through bold actions and previous acquisitions, Tutore has managed to develop several strong brands under its wings, offering high-quality, complementary online and desktop learning solutions in the B2C and B2B segments. We see great potential for further expansion of the group, both organically and through subsequent acquisitions. We also intend to support the company in technology investment to maintain its edge in the rapidly changing education market,” commented Andrzej Pietrzak, Partner at Innova Capital, who led the transaction on behalf of the Fund.
“The investment of a well-known and experienced private equity fund such as Innova Capital is a confirmation of the effectiveness of our activities on the Polish market to date, as well as an opportunity to implement new ambitious projects and continue our expansion. With a growing portfolio of strong educational brands, we are able to successfully deliver multi-channel services and create synergies between them in the form of hybrid courses (so-called blended learning) or offer a combination of digital solutions and traditional forms of education,” says Marcin Grzelak, CEO of Tutore Poland.
“At Tutore, we effectively combine the ability to provide modern digital services with the creation of quality educational content. We have been using elements of AI in our solutions for several years. When optimizing the individual educational experience, we want to take into account the different needs of our students, their preferences, learning styles, neurodiversity, etc. With Innova Capital's support, we will build AI solutions that will transform the education market in Poland and beyond,” adds Radosław Korczynski, Tutore Poland's Board Member for Technology and Product Development.
Innova has been successfully investing capital raised within its seventh fund since May 2023. The first deal was acquisition of a majority stake in the Romanian NETOPIA Group, a provider of payment services. Subsequently, Innova also invested in R-GOL, a multi-brand distributor of football accessories, which has since made two acquisitions – of Unisport (a leading online retailer of football equipment in Western Europe) and sportbm (a developer of software for the management of clubs and sports academies). Other additions to Innova's portfolio include EMI Group, which provides gate and docking systems; Woodeco (formerly Pfleiderer Polska), a manufacturer of wood-based panels; Dimark Manufacture S.A., a provider of proprietary solutions for baggage handling systems (BHS); and CloudFerro, a company offering cloud services to the European space sector.
About Tutore
Tutore was established in 2017 and is now a leader in the segment of language education and educational courses for children and youth. Since 2022, the company has made three acquisitions and now, as Tutore group, has a strong portfolio of educational brands, including: eTutor – the largest language learning platform and app, ProfiLingua - the largest network of language learning schools, and ESL Brains – a subscription platform of educational materials for English teachers, generating revenues in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the US, UK, Brazil, Egypt and Mexico. Tutore serves both the B2C channel, with 55,000 active customers, and the B2B channel, with more than 2,500 companies and 350,000 customers of educational services in this segment. Tutore currently employs 2,800 people, has its own R&D and IT departments and focuses on developing unique technologies in the field of education in combination with traditional education delivery models.
About Innova Capital
Innova Capital is an independent private equity adviser operating from Poland and investing in majority buyouts in mid-sized enterprises doing business in Central and Eastern Europe. Since its inception in 1994, Innova Capital has invested close to EUR 1.4 billion in almost 70 companies across 10 countries in the region. Innova was recognized by the Polish Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (PSIK) as PE Management Firm of the Year 2023 & 2024.
About CirCap
CirCap is an investment platform founded by a group of experienced investors with deep roots in the European private equity sector. The fund invests primarily in the DACH region and Poland and currently has €500 million of assets under management (AuM). CirCap's investment strategy focuses on the circular economy and innovative and disruptive business models in healthcare and education. CirCap's mission is to ensure that each portfolio investment has a significant positive impact on the economy, the environment and society. With years of experience in professional operations management, CirCap enables companies to continue their dynamic growth and transformation into established and sustainable businesses.
