Industry research
Education
Scope
Europe
Companies
152
Table of contents
Report collaborator:
Isabella Calderon Hoyos (Partner Transaction Advisory & Strategy) from OMMAX provided expert insights for this report. Read the full interview here
Key takeaways
What is the scope of this industry report?
The European education market comprises businesses that engage in providing private education, professional training and tutoring services. Identified players offer their products and services physically, digitally or through a combination of these channels. We segmented the European market into: (i) private education, (ii) tutoring & training and (iii) professional education.
What does the education market landscape look like in Europe?
The European education landscape is fragmented, characterised by a large number of SMEs alongside larger players holding leading positions in specific geographies or niche sectors. The main source of consolidation stems from financial sponsors aggregating niche players with specialised offerings to create holistic value propositions. As such, further consolidation can be expected across the board, especially in the private education segment, where players are poised to capture significant market share from public institutions.
What is the level of investor activity in Europe's education industry?
Sponsor-led interest has been significant, with ~80% of identified players being backed by financial sponsors (as of January 2026). This interest is mainly driven by (i) lifelong learning demand driven by labour market conditions, (ii) AI-led digitalisation of teaching methods and (iii) skill gaps in critical industries (e.g. IT, healthcare). On the other hand, (i) the availability of free alternatives, (ii) shortage of skilled educators and (iii) shrinking pre-school and school population in the EU serve as detractors for investors.
What are the key ESG considerations in Europe's education industry?
ESG topics are predominantly rooted in social challenges, with less emphasis on environmental issues. Social issues revolve around providing accessible education to both the general public and professionals, thereby aiming to eradicate inequalities stemming from social classes, gender and racial backgrounds. Education players attempt to tackle these challenges by offering high-quality educational services, utilising scholarships to address educational inequalities and collaborating with government bodies to subsidise programme costs. On the environmental front, industry incumbents focus on developing key action plans to achieve sustainable operations and to stick to carbon-reduction targets.
Company benchmarking
Market growth
An industry expert projects the private education segment to account for ~25% of the European market in the medium term (interview by Gain.pro). More specifically, the private segment is expected to have a year-on-year growth rate in the mid-to-high single digits (OMMAX expert interview)
The global education market was estimated at ~$6tn in 2022 and is forecasted to reach ~$8tn by 2030 (+3.7% CAGR; Morgan Stanley, June 2023)
Positive drivers
Increasingly volatile labour market conditions, influenced by technology and global competition, will continue to fuel adult participation in lifelong learning. This trend is reinforced by the EU policy, which targets having ~60% of all adults in the region participating in continuous learning and skills development training annually by 2030 (Eurostat, May 2025; CEDEFOP, September 2024)
The digitalisation of teaching methods, educational content, and distribution channels enables greater business model scalability and bottom-line margin upside. Additionally, the application of AI in the education sector may yield substantial growth through a more customised learning experience and 24/7 teaching support (interviews by Gain.pro; Digital Learning Institute, January 2025; Microsoft, August 2025)
Structural skill gaps across key industries (e.g. AI programming, healthcare) will sustain long-term growth for education providers active in these markets, across B2C and B2B settings (OMMAX expert interview)
Negative drivers
The wide availability of educational content on non-paid (e.g. YouTube) and freemium (e.g. Coursera) platforms, as well as piracy websites, significantly reduces customer demand and incumbents’ pricing power for premium products in the case of freely accessible alternatives (interviews by Gain)
Challenging working environments, the lack of specialised preparation, temporary contracts and resource constraints force adult educators into other occupational fields, creating staff shortages and limiting the capture of rising demand by industry players (Universal Wiser Publisher, May 2024; CEDEFOP, August 2025)
European pre-school and school population affected by record-low fertility rates (Eurostat, March 2025). At the same time, the domestic addressable market for professional in-person courses and programmes is threatened by industries moving aboard and the rise of remote working favouring dislocated headquarters (interview by Gain)
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Insights from c-suite industry executives
A clear overview of all active investors in the industry
An in-depth look into 152 private companies, incl. financials, ownership details and more.
A view on all 878 deals in the industry
ESG assessments with highlighted ESG outperformers
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