Maven Capital Partners has completed a successful realisation from WaterBear Education Limited, a specialist higher education provider for musicians and creative artists.
The sale to School of Arts, a private higher education group focused on performing and visual arts across France and Belgium, marks the successful exit of Maven’s investment in a business that has grown from a pre-revenue start-up into a leading specialist music education provider serving more than 1,000 students across Sheffield and Brighton.
The transaction is expected to deliver a total money multiple (“MoM”) of 3.0x for the Maven VCTs and 1.6x for the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (“NPIF”), including an element of deferred consideration.
The Maven VCTs first invested in WaterBear in February 2018, providing growth capital to support the launch and development of an innovative music education business founded by music industry and education entrepreneurs Adam Bushell and Bruce Dickinson.
WaterBear was set up to help aspiring musicians and artists build sustainable careers in a rapidly evolving music industry. The business set out to build an education model that blended academic study with real-world industry experience, equipping students with the creative, commercial and entrepreneurial skills needed to succeed as independent artists.
Working closely with management from the outset, Maven supported the opening of WaterBear’s first campus in Brighton before making a follow-on investment in 2019 to enable the company’s continued expansion. In 2023, NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, which is managed by Maven Capital Partners as part of the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), provided a loan note investment in the company to establish its second campus in Sheffield.
Sanjay Patel, portfolio director at Maven, said: “WaterBear is an excellent example of Maven backing an ambitious management team with a clear vision and a differentiated proposition. Despite being pre-revenue, Adam and Bruce had a proven track record in the sector, identified a substantial gap in the market, and had a clear plan on how they would deliver sustainable growth. Their success is a testament to their hard work and positive culture they have built at WaterBear. We wish the business the very best as it continues to scale under new investors.”
WaterBear CEO Bushell added: “Maven backed our vision at a very early stage and has been a supportive partner throughout WaterBear’s growth journey. Their investment helped us establish the business, expand our student offering and successfully open our Sheffield campus. But what really stood out was the people behind Maven. From the outset, there was a genuine alignment of values and ambition. We wanted to build a business that could make a real difference while remaining true to its purpose, and we felt that Maven understood that.
We are incredibly proud of what the team has achieved and excited about the opportunities ahead as part of School of Arts. We would like to thank Maven for its support, insight and confidence in the business from day one.”
