Scottish online literacy software firm Giglets has completed a deal with Sweden-headquartered edtech company ILT Education.

The seven-figure deal will see Giglets CEO and founder Craig Johnstone remain in his role and continue to grow the business from its Kilmarnock base.

Giglet’s deal follows an extended period of growth for the firm, which has recently expanded internationally with a team in Canada serving the North American market.

The company will now work alongside ILT Education to “significantly accelerate” business growth, both domestically and internationally, the company said.

As part of the deal, the core team of twelve, including Craig and Jax McGhee, chief product officer and founder will be retained. Chairman and founder Karsten Karcher will exit to focus on his other interests.

Commenting on the news, Johnstone said: “Giglets becoming part of the ILT Education family is recognition of the robust and profitable business we’ve been to create over the last 10 years. This private equity backed acquisition comes as we look to accelerate our growth across the UK, Ireland and internationally and at a time when the edtech market has never been more buoyant.

“I’m delighted to be staying at the helm of Giglets and continuing to lead the business in the next phase of our growth journey, whilst remaining focused on delivering world-class teaching and learning experiences for our customers and users.

“This is also fantastic news for Ayrshire, as we further secure existing jobs and work towards plans to grow the team to around twenty over the next two years.”

Recommended

• GDPR Four Years On: Redefining relationships with consumers
• Redcentric acquires Scots IT security testing firm 7 Elements
• Russian VPN usage skyrockets following Instagram ban

The Scottish edtech company enables schools and teachers to improve literacy results and raise learning standards in the classroom and at home. It currently aids more than 120,000 pupils and 40,000 teachers through its literacy platform.

Started at schools as part of an enterprise project before being spun out as a digital business from the University of Strathclyde, the business has developed a suite of content for education, with more than 1,100 digital titles.

Sweden-based ILT Education is backed by the private equity firm Trill Impact, a Pan-European impact investor focussed on investing in businesses that generate significant environmental and societal benefits.

Giglets said it now aims to contribute towards this purpose mission jointly with ILT Education, especially by supporting our society to progress further on SDG 4 (Quality Education).

Jakob Skogholm, CEO of ILT Education, said: “This acquisition marks an important milestone in ILT’s internationalisation, particularly in the sizable and attractive UK market. We have been impressed by Giglets’ people, culture and products.

“By joining forces with Giglets, we will be able to provide a broader and stronger suite of products towards a wider group of pupils and educators, further strengthening our mission to improve literacy and promote multilingualism across the world.”

Neil McInnes, Partner and Head of Corporate Finance for Grant Thornton in Scotland, added: “The EdTech sector is really active at present with investors attracted by scalable producers and recurring revenue streams companies like Giglets can provide.

“We have been supporting the founders of Giglets over the last three years and have enjoyed watching its growth so far, and with the company now benefitting from private equity backing, I am confident its impressive growth journey will continue.”

Get the latest news from DIGIT direct to your inbox

Our newsletter covers the latest technology and IT news from Scotland and beyond, as well as in-depth features and exclusive interviews with leading figures and rising stars.

To subscribe, click here.