In line with its strategy to use its strong schoolbook portfolio as a platform for further growth in the educational services and tools area, Wolters Kluwer acquired the UK based company Moorhouse Black Ltd. This company is the leading provider of distance learning courses to schools in the United Kingdom. Moorhouse Black, based in Southampton with offices in Bangor, North Wales employs over 30 people across the UK and has annual sales (2001) of EUR 2.7 million. Financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.
Moorhouse Black uses video conferencing to teach 15 different subjects to thousands of students at Advanced Supplementary, Advanced 2 and GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) levels. The main driver of the business has been increasing teacher shortages. The technology that is currently being migrated to the Web can be used for other applications as well. Students working with the Moorhouse Black technology have exam results as good as or better than conventionally taught courses. The company has pioneered the approach of providing innovative educational services while raising teaching standards.
Subjects taught by Moorhouse Black include Latin, Psychology, Law and Accounting. New courses have just been launched in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Moorhouse Black is already showing impressive growth in its current offering, the program extension in popular subjects is expected to allow the company to accelerate its growth further.
Moorhouse Black will become part of Nelson Thornes, the educational publishing company of Wolters Kluwer, based in Cheltenham, UK. The combination of Nelson Thornes' educational content, experience and routes to markets with Moorhouse Black's innovative thinking in the delivery of services, make a compelling offer to customers. Nelson Thornes will retain the Moorhouse Black brand name and support the continued development of its products.
'The acquisition of Moorhouse Black is a logical consequence of the roll out of the strategy of Wolters Kluwer Education as we aim to become a learning services provider across the geographies we serve', says Hugh J. Yarrington, member of the Executive Board of Wolters Kluwer and responsible for Education. 'We are confident that the company will be able to grow significantly in the United Kingdom. In addition to this, we believe that the business model travels well. Therefore, we intend to apply Moorhouse Black's proven concept in other countries as well, in both traditional educational markets and areas such as corporate education.'
Note for the editor:
Wolters Kluwer is a multinational information services company with annual sales of approximately EUR 3.8 billion, employing approximately 20,000 people in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. The company's core activities are Legal & Regulatory, International Health, and Education. The Wolters Kluwer shares are quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam. The financial results for the first half 2002 will be announced on August 13, 2002.
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