Navitas Limited
Navitas is an Australian owned for-profit private education services company, owning various private education providers internationally. It is the largest private non-university higher education provider in Australia.
Navitas made A$929.69 million in total sales in 2018, through its various subsidiaries and pathways programs in association with 11 public universities in Australia.
History
Navitas was established in 1994, as the Perth Institute of Business and Technology. The company was co-founded by Rod Jones and Dr Peter Larsen, as a joint venture with Edith Cowan University. Both founders had career backgrounds in education and education administration, and recognised a gap in the tertiary education sector, where international students, despite being equally capable as domestic students, were failing their courses due to lack of support. Following a partnership deal with a university in the United Kingdom in 2000, the company made its first international expansion. Four years onward, following success in this venture and the further establishment of pathways colleges, the company was listed publicly on the Australian Securities Exchange as IBT Education, being the first Australian education company to do so.In 2005, as Australia's only private education company of its kind at the time, IBT Education acquired the largest private English language teaching company in Australia, Australian Centre for Languages Pty Ltd. for A$55.7m. Following shareholder approval, the company proceeded with a renaming in 2007, renaming itself from IBT Education Limited, to Navitas Limited, as well as rebranding its public operations to Navitas. Navitas expanded operations into the USA in 2010, through partnerships with the University of Massachusetts and Western Kentucky University. Responding to a favourable financial environment, Navitas moved on acquiring SAE Group, for A$294.3m, in 2011, its largest acquisition so far. Following further success, propelled by the growing international education industry, in 2014, Navitas entered the ASX 100. Subsequently, Forbes placed it 25th in their Most Innovative Growth Companies 2014 list. In 2017, the company launched Navitas Ventures, a corporate venture capital fund.
Private equity takeover
In 2019, Navitas agreed to a buyout from a consortium of investors, following negotiation throughout 2018 and 2019, where Navitas rejected the initial offer. Following this, the shareholders were informed of the terms of the buyout, at A$5.825 per share. The investor consortium was led by private equity firm BGH Capital, also consisting of AustralianSuper and the company's founder Rod Jones. This marked the largest-ever acquisition by an Australian private equity firm, by gross value.Structure
As of 2019, the ultimate parent of Navitas Limited is BGH Capital.Segments
The company's subsidiary businesses are categorised under two segments; careers and industry, and university pathways partnerships. These categorisations are used to describe its revenue sources.Careers and industry
These companies explicitly provide career and industry training to students:- Navitas English
- Navitas Professional
- SAE Creative Media Institute
- Australian College of Applied Psychology
- Australian School of Applied Management
University pathways partnerships
| Navitas Subsidiary | Pathway for | City | Country |
| Curtin College | Curtin University | Perth | |
| Curtin Singapore | Curtin University | Singapore | |
| Deakin College | Deakin University | Melbourne | |
| Edith Cowan College | Edith Cowan University | Perth | |
| Eynesbury College | University of Adelaide, University of South Australia | Adelaide | |
| Griffith College | Griffith University | Brisbane | |
| La Trobe College | La Trobe University | Melbourne | |
| South Australian Institute of Business and Technology | University of South Australia | Adelaide | |
| Sydney Institute of Business and Technology | Western Sydney University | Sydney | |
| Taylors College | The University of Sydney | Sydney | |
| University of Canterbury International College | University of Canterbury | Christchurch | |
| University of Canberra College | University of Canberra | Canberra | |
| Western Sydney University International College | Western Sydney University | Sydney | |
| ARU College | Anglia Ruskin University | Cambridge | |
| Birmingham City University International College | Birmingham City University | Birmingham | |
| Hertfordshire International College | University of Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire | |
| International College at Robert Gordon University | Robert Gordon University | Aberdeen | |
| International College Portsmouth | University of Portsmouth | Portsmouth | |
| Leicester University Global Study Centre | University of Leicester | Leicester | |
| London Brunel International College | Brunel University London | London | |
| The College, Swansea University | Swansea University | Swansea | |
| The Hague Pathway College | The Hague University of Applied Sciences | The Hague | |
| Twente Pathway College | University of Twente | Enschede | |
| University of Northampton International College | University of Northampton | Northampton | |
| UA92 Global | Lancaster University | Manchester | |
| University of Plymouth International College | University of Plymouth | Plymouth | |
| Fraser International College | Simon Fraser University | Burnaby | |
| International College of Manitoba | University of Manitoba | Manitoba | |
| Richard Bland College of William and Mary Global Student Success Program | William & Mary, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech | Virginia | |
| Toronto Metropolitan University International College | Toronto Metropolitan University | Toronto | |
| Umass Boston Navitas Global Student Success Program | UMass Boston | Boston | |
| Queens College Global Student Success Program | Queens College | New York City | |
| Wilfirid Laurier International College | Wilfrid Laurier University | Brantford | |
| Australian College of Technology and Business | Edith Cowan University | Colombo | |
| Murdoch University Dubai | Murdoch University | Dubai |
Navitas Ventures
In 2017, Navitas launched its venture capital fund, Navitas Ventures, aimed at startups in the educational technology sector.Portfolio
As of 2021, the Navitas Ventures portfolio contains nine companies:-
Revenue
University partnerships
This segment encapsulates pathways programs run by Navitas in partnership with other universities.University partnerships account for the largest part of Navitas revenue, and was their original revenue source.
Careers and industry
This segment includes all career and industry training institutions, such as SAE Institute and Professional & English Programs. The careers and industry section of the business is a result of Navitas' acquisition of training institutions, such as Australian College of Applied Psychology, SAE Institute, and Australian School of Applied Management. The segment also includes student recruitment services, which provides recruitment services to students such as internships, for those seeking experience internationally.Prior to 2017, this segment was represented as 2 smaller categories, Professional and English Programs and SAE Institute, however was merged.
Corporate
This segment includes Navitas group's corporate functions.Yearly results (2006–2018)
This table displays the total revenue divided by each segment, before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and impairment.All dollar figures in this table are in Australian Dollars, in thousands.
| Year | University Partnerships | Careers and Industry | Corporate Functions | Total |
| 2018 | $598,887 | $317,563 | $13,243 | $929,693 |
| 2017 | $574,129 | $375,054 | $4,321 | $953,504 |
| 2016 | $635,411 | $368,440 | $4,584 | $1,008,435 |
| 2015 | $566,340 | $409,459 | $2,432 | $978,141 |
| 2014 | $499,186 | $374,532 | $2,255 | $875,973 |
| 2013 | $415,713 | $311,311 | $2,537 | $729,561 |
| 2012 | $366,674 | $317,975 | $3,497 | $688,146 |
| 2011 | $372,947 | $265,152 | $3,727 | $641,826 |
| 2010 | $346,755 | $205,070 | $3,569 | $555,394 |
| 2009 | $283,419 | $183,773 | $2,644 | $469,836 |
| 2008 | $209,138 | $132,843 | $1,171 | $343,152 |
| 2007 | $155,929 | $125,129 | $1,652 | $282,710 |
| 2006 | $137,178 | $85,475 | $3,393 | $226,046 |