Cedergrenska is a Swedish independent educational provider founded in 2007. It offers a broad range of education, from preschools to higher vocational education. The majority of revenues stem from compulsory and upper secondary schools located in the northeast Stockholm region. The company runs its schools under a framework called “The Cedergrenska model”, which is based on geographical clusters where schools within cooperate to enhance education, create attractive workplaces and reach economies of scale.
Ever since the Swedish school market was de-regulated in 1992, independent schools have grown in popularity. A positive demographic outlook in conjunction with an ongoing urbanisation creates a need for new schools to be built, which independent actors like Cedergrenska can benefit from. In addition, the independent school market still contains many small players that may be of interest to the company to acquire.
The two key operational risks the company faces are sufficient funding from the school vouchers and political reforms. Swedish municipalities are facing economic constraints from an ageing population and there is concern about how this will translate to school vouchers. Furthermore, the political landscape is far from predictable, and we cannot rule out reforms that will be negative for independent school actors in the future.
