Sovereign strikes a chord with BIMM

Sovereign strikes a chord with BIMM

Sovereign Capital, the UK private equity Buy & Build specialist, is pleased to announce its £10m investment in Brighton and Bristol Institute of Modern Music ("BIMM") the UK's leading provider of modern music vocational and higher education.

Run by musicians for musicians, BIMM offers its 1,150 students a broad range of qualifications in Modern Music through its colleges in Brighton and Bristol.  These courses are delivered by 100 tutors who are active professional musicians with a variety of touring, performing and session experience.  The tutorial programme includes a mixture of classroom study, live performance and specialist workshops from BIMM's studios and lecture rooms, equipped with a choice of vintage and state of the art music equipment.

BIMM enjoys outstanding retention and achievement rates, excellent student feedback and a strong track record of alumni success; with previous BIMM students having scored thirty UK Top 40 singles and having been involved in successful UK Top 20 albums including The Kooks, Beth Rowley and Kate Walsh.

Sovereign is backing a strong management team who, as commercially minded, music industry experts, established BIMM in 2001.  Having begun his career as a professional bass player and songwriter, Kevin Nixon was previously Artist and Recording Director at Richard Branson's V2 record company.  Bruce Dickinson, who is responsible for the company's educational operations, was originally a successful artist with the rock band Little Angels, before pursuing a career in modern music education.  Sarah Clayman, who leads BIMM's marketing and recruitment, has spent her entire career in the music business including live touring with acts such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Neil Diamond and working at Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.

Sovereign is supporting the three founding partners by appointing Adam Carswell as Finance Director and Paul Brett as Non-Executive Chairman.  They both have strong experience in education and vocational training and will be well positioned to help facilitate BIMM's Buy & Build expansion.

Commenting on the transaction, Ryan Robson, Managing Partner at Sovereign Capital said: "BIMM has built an excellent reputation within its market and offers its growing student base the opportunity to combine their passion for music with the education and training needed to achieve their vocational aspirations.  We are delighted to extend Sovereign's educational expertise into the UK music sector which, as the world's second largest live music market, is able to provide thousands of jobs or new work opportunities each year, thereby creating a strong demand for higher and further education music courses."

Kevin Nixon, Founding Director at BIMM added: "We look forward to developing the BIMM offering with Sovereign's financial support and educational expertise.  We have always felt that BIMM had further UK and international potential and this deal unlocks the opportunity to expand the business."

With this exciting transaction, Sovereign is further enhancing its strong reputation as a serial investor in the education market, its eighteenth investment in the sector.  Sovereign has committed further funding to support BIMM's Buy & Build development both in the UK and abroad.