Charter School Capital based in Portland, Oregon has acquired five Florida charter schools in a $71.74 million deal. The portfolio is comprised of five charter schools totalling 295,992 square feet, situated on 40 acres across various sites in Florida, including Riverview, Vero Beach, Coral Springs, Davie and Plantation. The purchase was unique in that the portfolio also involves five individual operators, or Charter School Management Organizations (CMOs). The average remaining charter term for the portfolio is 17 years. Colliers International Education Services Group represented seller ESJ Capital Partners and its minority partner, MG3 Development Group.
Charter schools, which are tuition-free public schools, are created through a “contract” or “charter” between the school and the local district school board. According to the Florida Department of Education, the number of charter schools rose to 652 during the previous school year, with more than 270,000 students enrolled across the state. The enrollment numbers have increased more than a 50 percent during the last five years.
“Charter schools have historically sold individually, not in a portfolio,” noted Colliers Senior Vice President and Education Services Group Member Achikam Yogev. “So while the buyer was naturally very interested in a strong footprint of high-performing charter schools with a diversified roster of CMOs, it also required a much more thorough approach to due diligence and expertise in this highly-specialized asset class.”
