The pandemic and its associated lockdowns have rapidly accelerated changes in education delivery and supply. Interest and attention is now focused on the education industry more than ever and this brings both great opportunity and great challenges.

We have considerable experience in advising businesses in both the education and technology industries and use our in-depth knowledge and wider networks to support our clients in exploring new opportunities as well as providing expert and practical advice.

Our clients include educational institutions, training providers, educational suppliers and publishers, edtech companies and investors. We advise on M&A and investment transactions in the edtech and education sectors, as well as on international expansion by schools, employment and immigration, trade mark protection and data protection compliance.

EdTech & education experience

  • Advised founders of The Career Portal Limited (which runs The Medic Portal) and The Lawyer Portal (a leading online education resource for anyone considering a career in law) on its sale to Dukes Applications Ltd.

  • Advised the shareholders of education communications agency EdComs Limited on its acquisition by Everfi. The acquisition has given EdComs and EVERFI a global platform from which to deploy education addressing social issues alongside a roster of well-known brands and companies.

  • Advised on the sale of online legal publisher, Justis Publishing Limited, to global legal research company vLex Holdings Limited. The transaction builds on Fox Williams’ experience of the EdTech and online learning sectors.

  • Advised Volaris on its acquisition of Furlong Business Solutions Limited, a provider of school Management Information Systems.

  • Advised EdTech company Firefly Learning on its £5.2 million Series B funding round led by Downing Ventures. Existing investors BGF and Beringea also participated in the round.

  • Advised on the funding and establishment of the New College of Humanities, the private university founded by city financiers, high net worth individuals and leading academics including AC Grayling, Richard Dawkins, Niall Ferguson and Sir David Cannadine.

  • Advised on the sale of Rising Stars, the publisher of curriculum, assessment and revision resources for primary schools, to Hodder Education.

  • Advised Dulwich College, Wellington College, North London Collegiate School and King’s Education on setting up their international schools in China, South Korea, Latvia, Germany and Qatar.

  • Advised EdTech company Firefly Learning on its acquisition of SchoolPost, a school-home communications tool, and learning engagement platform, Epraise.

EdTech & education FAQs

We have a wealth of experience in the early stage, venture capital and private equity sectors and act for institutional and private investors, investee companies and management teams. We have good relationships with both individuals and intermediaries and can facilitate introductions where required. In particular we have a strong network of angel investors in the educational publishing sector as well as many acquisitive clients.

Yes, we are recognised by the legal directories as a leading law firm on advising on the raising of equity finance, and we have assisted both investors and companies in various sectors on their funding rounds.

We provide specialist data protection advice to leading independent publishers, business information providers and other UK and international publicity and media companies. In particular we have a wealth of experience in assisting publishing companies navigate GDPR compliance.

Yes, we act for edtech businesses and education suppliers on all kinds of commercial contracts including B2B contracts, international licence agreements and standard terms and conditions of business. We also advise on data protection, cyber security and GDPR as well as intellectual property and brand protection.

There are a number of factors which need to be considered when negotiating SaaS agreements. These include:

  • Is the agreement B2B or B2C?
  • How many users will be permitted to use the solution?
  • Will the SaaS solution result in the processing of personal data? If so, data processing provisions will need to be included.
  • What provisions are included to protect your IPR.
  • What provisions are included to limit liability and manage legal risk.
  • As a customer, do you require service levels and service credits to be included?
  • Are there industry-specific regulations which need to be complied with?

We are experienced negotiating SaaS agreements from the customer and supplier side and assist with any queries you may have.

"Fox Williams provide very strong, thoughtful and commercially relevant advice. They are consistently responsive and always make themselves available."


Chambers UK 2024

"The team at Fox Williams are professional, friendly, and exceptionally knowledgeable. They collaborate well and offer a fantastic level of service to clients."


Legal 500 2024

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