21 April 2021

Sommet Education to double its global footprint With the acquisition of the Invictus Education Group, a leading private education and training operator in South Africa

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Lausanne, Switzerland – April 21st, 2021 – Sommet Education, the worldwide network of first-class higher education hospitality and culinary arts schools, together with Invictus Education Group, South African leading private education operator, are happy to announce that Sommet Education is acquiring a majority stake in Invictus Education alongside its historical shareholders. With this acquisition, Sommet Education is doubling its worldwide footprint, bringing the number of its campuses worldwide from nine currently to seventeen and student number from 6,000 to 9,000 students. The signing marks the start of a rapid expansion plan in South Africa and further pan-African developments.

Expansion strategy spurs growth

Sommet Education continues to consolidate its position as the leading network in hospitality education. After the acquisition of École Ducasse in 2019, the acquisition of the Invictus Education Group represents a new step forward for Sommet Education which is doubling its worldwide footprint bringing the number of its campuses worldwide from nine currently to seventeen and from 6,000 to 9,000 students. Sommet Education’s strategy leverages on expansion to support its growth through various types of opportunities, from acquisitions of local and regional hospitality education brands to investment in adjacent business lines or asset-light models.

On the occasion of the signing, Sommet Education CEO Benoît-Etienne Domenget commented: “Invictus Education Group is an amazing success story in the African education landscape. With a 25-year history on the continent, a diverse portfolio of hospitality education institutions, a very strong digital program portfolio, a highly experienced team and a robust management, a national footprint and strong pipeline, Invictus has the potential to further carry all our ambitions in the region and beyond.”

Strong development outlook

Together, Sommet Education and Invictus Education plan to develop additional campuses for the International Hotel School and one additional SAE Institute campus in South Africa. The first project under construction will be located in Benoni, South Africa and is due to open in July this year. It will be followed in 2022 by other campuses in South Africa: Nelspruit, Potchefstroom, Port Elisabeth, and Pretoria.

Mike Lambert, Invictus Founder and CEO says: “Sommet Education is the international partner we needed to support our vision and expansion plan. This alliance also means that we will be able to provide our students with access to a worldwide network of alumni and industry partners with diversified learning paths and careers, with even more opportunity to learn and thrive internationally.”

In addition to these expansion plans, the two partners are looking to implement synergies in four key areas:

Curriculum building and faculty expertise to support the expansion of Invictus Bachelor’s Degree on which Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches have built their reputation;
Further development of Culinary and Pastry Arts portfolio of programs relying on the know-how of École Ducasse;
Invictus bringing its knowledge and experience of B2B training, development and business consulting from Summit;
Both partners will work together and share their knowledge, experience and vision on the on-line education programs and platforms.

Ambitious developments are also targeted for Africa, with a first campus opening in Kenya already scheduled for 2023.

Complementary programs and expertise

Sommet Education is the only education group with two top four globally ranked hospitality business schools, Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches, recently respectively elected second and third in the world by employers.Together with culinary and pastry arts school, École Ducasse, the Group operates nine campuses in five countries (Switzerland, France, Spain, UK and China) as well as state-of-the-art remote learning platforms.

On its hand, Invictus Education is a leading private education network in South Africa. It is a diversified company within the field of Hospitality Education and Training that comprises of the following four brands and a network of 8 Campuses, 3 Regional Offices, and 1 Support Office within the country:

International Hotel School, which delivers full time programs in Hospitality Management, Food and Beverage Management, and Culinary Arts. The school also operates an online learning platform with pathways ranging from short courses to full scale qualifications both within Africa and Australia;
HS Gaming dedicated to gaming answering to the training needs the major listed casino operators in the country;
Summit which reunites B2B experts in the field of training, development, and business consulting and assists corporate businesses in achieving their strategic goals through innovative digital and practical training delivery mechanisms, with an emphasis on offering tailor made solutions in hospitality, gaming, management and retail food services sectors;
SAE Institute Africa, a fast-growing education company dedicated to creative media education and offering a broad portfolio of programs including Bachelors’ degrees and Higher Certificates in film production, sound production, animation, and gaming.