A Swiss investment group has appointed advisers to explore a sale or market listing of Cognita, which owns and operates dozens of private schools in the UK and overseas.

In total, Cognita owns 39 schools across the UK, but also operates more than 100 worldwide across 17 countries.

According to a report in The Times, Swiss investment group, Jacobs Holding (which bought the firm in 2018), has been appointed advisers from banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to explore options to sell or become a public listing.

They report private equity giants Permira, CVC, and Blackstone are all interested in the business, which was founded 20 years ago by former chief inspector of schools, Sir Chris Woodhead.

Rumours of Cognita’s sale have been circulating for the past few years, but with the economy becoming unstable, the educational business has become more desirable – with private schools often unaffected by crises as parents are often willing to pay the fees of their children.

The potential sale process is still in a very early stage, with information about the preferred choice of sale and when a sale may come, still unknown at this time.

Rumours have also circulated that Cognita could sell parts of the UK business as a separate chunk, although this is something the firm has denied.

A spokesperson for Cognita told The Times: “We are proud of our presence in the UK and remain committed to delivering high-quality education here.

“We have no plans to exit the country.”