AG advises COGNITA on its third school acquisition in the UAE

The Addleshaw Goddard team has advised Cognita on all aspects of its most recent acquisition of Dubai-based Horizon International School from Al Najah Education, being an investment and management group company, which manages international schools and nurseries across the Middle East and South East Asia.

Cognita is a UK-based global education group that operates 88 schools across 12 countries worldwide. The successful completion of the auction sale follows Cognita’s acquisition of Horizon English School and Ranches Primary School in Dubai in 2021, which AG also advised on. Cognita has also recently opened The Royal Grammar School Guildford, Dubai.

Lowri Llwyd, commented, “We are delighted to have been able to assist Cognita on its third school acquisition in the region in the last 12 months, particularly as the transaction was structured by way of competitive auction process which demonstrates Horizon International School’s exceptional reputation. Cognita has yet again confirmed its commitment to being a leading education provider in the region.”

Talking about the acquisition, Jayne Pinchbeck, general counsel for Cognita, commented: “The AG team have been key advisers for us throughout the transaction and we very much value their full-service input and support on our third acquisition in Dubai in such a short space of time. We are excited to add such an excellent school to our global Cognita family.”

The team at AG was led by Lowri Llwyd (Partner, Corporate) with support from Ben Brown (Partner, Employment), Jeremy Scott (Partner, Real Estate), Sebastian Roberts (Managing Associate, Real Estate), James Chumbley (Managing Associate, Corporate), Lauren Scott (Associate, Corporate), Charlene De Souza (Associate, Corporate), David True (Associate, Employment) and Rania Sallam (Senior Paralegal, Corporate).