More schools are also building additional boarding facilities to cater for rising demand among parents.

The number of young girls choosing to board this year alone has soared by almost a fifth to just under 6,000.

But it was claimed that the rise may also be driven by the economic climate, with mothers and fathers forced to work increasingly long hours to make ends meet.

David Hanson, the chief executive of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS), said many families saw boarding as a cheaper alternative to hiring a full-time nanny.

Some parents are also attracted by the rise in “flexi-boarding” – flexible arrangements that allow children to stay for few nights a week without making a full-time commitment.

According to data, some 13,945 pupils are boarding at schools belonging to the IAPS this year, compared with 13,178 in 2010.

Figures show 218 schools now have boarding facilities, compared with 204 a year earlier.

The average prep school charges an average of just over £18,000-a-year for full-time boarding. By comparison, senior schools charge almost £25,000.

Boarding is believed to be much cheaper than many forms of childcare, with a full-time nanny in parts of the south-east costing as much as £40,000 after tax.

Mr Hanson said: “Busy professionals are realising the benefits of sending their children to these schools, which offer excellent facilities, healthcare, education and social environments, that can give them complete peace of mind, rather than paying for a nanny of uncertain quality.”

He added: “Paying a nanny is terrifyingly expensive. You don’t tend to think about it at the time as you pay it in monthly or weekly chunks, but when you calculate it over the year you’re staggered by how much you’ve spent.”

Why do buyers of language schools and international colleges all want only the ones in the South of England and London?  Why won’t they consider the excellent ones up North?  Northern colleges are often not only better value – but better. 

For example, we have a Northern college, leasehold, which is of high quality but run by a charming fellow who has discovered he doesn’t enjoy running his own business – happy to stay on as an employee though, because he loves teaching!  How much does he want?

Just £200,000.

And we have a large college whose Director of Studies will also stay on board, in the posh, Georgian North - frankly a much more elegant and attractive environment than most of London – at only £750,000.

You can get there and back easily by train – why not venture North?

Enquiries this month have come from most corners of the globe.

Indeed, the great majority of our enquiries now come from outside the UK.  The world has woken up to the fact that there are few countries more stable, more enterprising and more interesting than Britain and the UK has become a haven for international investment.

34% of London property is currently bought by international, non-UK investors.

Of particular note is the strong interest from universities in the Far and Middle East and the former Soviet bloc states in acquiring university campuses and forging academic links in England, Scotland and Wales.

- Truly outstanding Dyslexia/SEN/Autism spectrum school.  Home Counties.  Convenient for London.  Ill health forces sale.  Excellent location and facilities.  Owner will facilitate handover.  Secure long leasehold.  Offers over £450,000 for quick sale. [Ref: B9222]

- Top quality, friendly UKBA Highly Trusted Language School in the Prosperous North serving over 30 nationalities.  Long established.  Sale for retirement.  Current management happy to stay.  Good secure leaseholds.  Excellent facilities and ambience.  Good, reliable, rising profits.  Offers over £750,000.  [Ref: B9220]

 - Small private language school in modest, convenient leasehold premises in W. London. £50,000.  [Ref: B9221]

- Large national nursery group with registration for over 800.  Loss-making overall but some very large nurseries and some profitable.  Mostly leasehold but at least £850,000 of freeholds.  Offers over £1,000,000 for quick sale.  [Ref: N0243]

- It’s not often we can offer a really good, traditional school in a City Centre.  This one has a good academic reputation, a very good Head who will stay, a lovely building and all-weather playground.  The school is loved and respected locally – and has been for well over 100 years.  Offers in excess of £1,800,000.  [Ref: B9224]

- Very good Northern language school with high standards and good credentials.  Business improving after tough recession and new UK controls.  Owner says he is a committed teacher but not a great businessman – happy to remain with a good business partner.  Offers around £200,000.  [Ref: B9226]

- Large, long-established, Central London UKBA Highly Trusted Language School with outstanding facilities and location.  Not currently profitable but should be.  Large freehold available or lease available.  Discussion and offers.  [Ref: B9219]

We are selling an exceptional large family school with generous grounds, a beautiful location and superb facilities (you name it) and a fine, long-standing academic reputation.  Reason for sale is retirement.  No rush – they will only sell to people they respect and trust.  Strong competition but profits holding up well.  Offers in excess of £5,000,000.  [Ref: B9216]

To make sure that all of their students are bona fide, this college interviews each one on Skype at the agent’s office in whichever country.  On the day I met the owner, they had been interviewing a prospective student in India. The student was looking shyly downwards so their mouth was hard to see.  As the answers came, the interviewer suspected that it was not the ‘student’ who was answering…but someone behind them …who eventually threw a bit of a shadow! That student did not come…. and that agent is no longer doing business with that college.

Secondly, Immigration at Heathrow called to say they had a student claiming to be coming to the college: did they know about this person? The college said no…never heard of them. Five minutes later, the college received an email to say the ‘student’ was on their way and would the college please confirm arrival? Needless to say, the person never arrived. Hmmm.

This college is regularly inspected by all sorts of motley people from UKBA whilst the dodgy college across the road continues to take unregistered students…it is a visa factory.  The concern is that the good colleges are going to go out of business thanks to poor inspection and surveillance of the visa factories.

Peers Carter

So we were very pleased to be asked to take a look at a 28-place Special Needs School in the Eastern Home Counties.  Most of the places in SEN Schools are, of course, LEA funded.  These are worthwhile, secure and profitable businesses which deliver value to society.  If this opportunity is of interest, please contact us and mention you read about it on the Blog.

- Peers Carter

The Venture Capital Boys Are Back … arrogant, snide and generally unpleasant to deal with. We have dealt with two lots of them recently … or rather we have tried to … then haven’t and won’t.

First they sign STC’s reasonable agreement …. then they tear it up and want their own special terms.

These terms of theirs which they claim are ’standard’ – they aren’t in this market! – would leave our tender clients with no competitive offers, no representation and no advice from their agents … and at the mercy of their dubious tricks.

One even said  ”what did that matter to us so long as we got paid” ?!!

If you deal  direct with a VC, here’s what you can expect to happen – because it has  happened every time we have dealt with venture capital groups in the past  ….

First you get a meaty offer. To accept this you have to sign an exclusivity deal with them.

Then they ask for an extensive ‘due diligence’ … which is a fancy way of saying they want to ask all the questions again and again in greater and greater detail so that they have an excuse to reduce their offer. And whilst you are spending a lot of time and money on this, of course all your other buyers will have melted away.

Deadlines for completion will come and go while more questions are asked … and you will not be able to go back to your agent and ask who else is out there under their terms …

And eventually – you will rub your eyes at this one – they will ask for a 20% reduction in the price on the day of completion.

In one instance, due diligence cost a client £70,000 over time … the offer was reduced by 20% … fortunately they walked out. We sold the school for £1,000,000 more than the lower offer in a short space of time.

If you are approached by a VC, tell us in confidence. We shall find you a better buyer if you want one!

STC always gets competitive offers and our advice is always free and liberal until you have the right offer – and the right people – to proceed.