AN investment fund has bought a major stake in Derry=based online training company Learning Pool.
The business based in Patrick Street was was founded in 2006.
It currently employs 80 people and its customers include the NHS and Capita.
A cash injection has come Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI) which is focused on small and medium Irish firms with strong growth potential, including Lily O’Brien’s chocolates and Payzone.
The Learning Pool deal is CCI’s first in the North of Ireland.
The investment will help the firm to grow its team and develop new products.
The size of the deal has not been revealed but is understood to be a seven-figure sum.
The fund usually makes investments of between £4 million £40 million.
Learning Pool’s existing management team, including the chief executive Paul McElvaney, will continue in their current roles and are investing further as shareholders in the business.
Mr McElvaney, who founded the business and was the majority shareholder, said the investment will allow the firm to “fast track” its growth and deliver products more quickly.
Jonathan Cosgrave, managing director, at the Carlyle Group said Learning Pool is well positioned to grow its share of the estimated £675m UK e-learning market.
He added that the fund had been impressed by Learning Pool’s “entrepreneurial leadership team.”
John Dolan, managing director, Cardinal Capital Group said the e-learning market is growing at over 10% per year and Learning Pool is “ideally placed to meet this demand”.
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