Specialist
Former regional director at Global University Systems BV
Agenda
- Coronavirus implications for Global University Systems (GUS)
- Cost mitigation and EBITDA expansion opportunities
- Acquisition opportunities and strategic outlook
- Higher education business (G6) separation challenges and impact for GUS
Questions
1.
How has the pandemic impacted GUS’s higher education business? What are the sector’s 2020-21 enrolment numbers vs 2019, focusing on key regions? What does this mean for GUS?
2.
Could you estimate what percentage of GUS’s students are local vs international?
3.
Are there significant top line and fee structure differences between local and international students? You mentioned the student mix doesn’t fluctuate much. Does the top line change drastically if the local and international student mix significantly alters?
4.
Do you expect the mix of international students to increase over time, especially in the UK with the introduction of the post-study work visa in July 2021? The international student diversity has helped GUS weather the storm through the pandemic.
5.
Do you think coronavirus or Brexit will have additional market impacts in the medium to long term?
6.
What online advantages or differentiation does GUS have vs competitors?
7.
Have there been any pricing trends or increases in scholarships or promotional activities from universities to stem deferral or attrition rates?
8.
Do you have any insights from previous recessions on why you think this is the best time for a student to enter higher education? How resilient is higher education?
9.
Do you think GUS has fared relatively well over the last 12 months, and that we should expect positivity and tailwinds over the next 12-24 months?
10.
Could you describe the business model of GUS’s higher education segment? What are its key revenue and profitability drivers?
11.
How important has GUS’s recruitment unit been to the higher education segment and G6’s success?
12.
How would you assess the quality of GUS’s higher education institutions vs competitors? Disregarding GUS’s recruitment business, do any of these institutions possess a greater competitive advantage, whether through quality of offering, price, location or post-study services?
13.
It sounds like individual institutions have a strong advantage, but do you think GUS would achieve the same recruitment numbers if it split the higher education and recruitment businesses?
14.
Has GUS’s recruitment team shown bias towards its own universities? You said this was a concern for some universities wanting to partner with GUS.
15.
What growth opportunities do you expect for G6 and the higher education segment? Could it grow through acquisitions? If so, are you aware of any targets that would fit GUS’s business model?
16.
Are there many institutions coming to market or expected to come to market, or do you think GUS will focus on building out its capabilities in-house?
17.
Do you expect opportunities with attractive valuations to come to market in Europe and the UK especially, given the pandemic’s impact?
18.
Could you give an overview of the European higher education market’s competitive landscape? Who are GUS’s key competitors? You mentioned Galileo Global Education is one.
19.
How has online learning impacted Europe’s competitive landscape? Do you expect a market share loss from the key bricks-and-mortar players moving to online? How do the online margins for a company such as GUS compare to face-to-face bricks-and-mortar?
20.
Do you expect there to be a significant pricing differential for online courses, such as a master’s or postgraduate degree, vs face-to-face bricks-and-mortar?
21.
Do you expect more pure online players to enter the market, given the rise in online learning during the pandemic?
22.
Why is GUS selling a minority stake in its higher education business? Do you think this is to fund the expansion opportunities you highlighted, which are possible in Europe?
23.
What complexities could arise from separating the higher education business from GUS? I understand it’s selling a minority stake, but do you think a full separation could ever happen?
24.
How might GUS’s recruitment business fare if it’s further separated from the company? Could this give the business more chance to grow rapidly, given that it would not be burdened with the negative perception that it might only fund or recruit for GUS universities?
25.
Are there any regulatory challenges to be aware of that could impact GUS in its key regions? You mentioned how a recession could be a tailwind for the higher education industry.
26.
Do you expect GUS to venture into the US through either side of the business?
27.
Are there any headwinds, tailwinds or risks for GUS that we haven’t discussed?
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