Bowmark Capital invests in Oxford International Education Group (formerly ISIS Education Group)

Founded in 1991 by David Brown and Robert Darell, OIEG is a leading UK-based education business, providing English language, sixth-form, university pathways and educational tour programmes to UK and international students.

The group currently operates six schools and 30 centres for English language students from overseas, runs a sixth-form college in Oxford, and arranges educational tour programmes for 23,000 pupils a year. In addition, OIEG is working with De Montfort University in Leicester to launch an on-campus pathway programme to prepare international students for university study. The first students will be enrolled in June 2014.

The development capital funding will be used to expand the range of English language schools; grow the number of university pathway programmes; and further invest in the group’s global marketing network.

David Brown commented: "We have recently made several acquisitions and attracted a number of excellent specialist staff. We felt the time was right to secure capital that could help us achieve our growth ambitions in both the higher education and English language sectors. We believe that there is a real opportunity for a mid-sized operator to become a genuine alternative to the large multinationals that straddle the upper end of our industry."

Bowmark investment director Tom Shelford, added: "OIEG has built a leading range of education programmes with significant opportunities for further growth in the UK and overseas. We look forward to supporting David, Robert and the team in building on their considerable success to date."