The Consortium sold as part of £56.5m deal

Swindon-based newspaper and parcel delivery company Connect Group has announced it is selling its education and care business to Abingdon-based RM education, a leading independent supplier of resources, IT software and IT services, in a £56.5 million deal.

The sale will include Trowbridge-based The Consortium.

Connect Education & Care currently serves over 30,000 customers, predominantly in the UK, providing an extensive range of over 40,000 commodity and education resources products.

The group will continue to focus on growth opportunities within news and media, and parcel freight businesses, it said in a statement.

Mark Cashmore, group chief executive, said: “We are pleased to announce the sale of our Education & Care division to RM plc. Having received a number of approaches and after conducting a detailed review, we have concluded that the disposal represents the right option for the group, the division and our strategy.”

RM Plc said the deal would make it a leader in the UK educational supplies market.