RM plc sold its TTS resources arm to become a pure-play digital assessment business

RM plc, the UK education technology group, completed the sale of TTS — its hands-on learning resources business, built around products like the Bee-Bot classroom robot — to Sweden's Eduviva Group on September 29, 2026. TTS generated £67.3M of revenue in FY25, 41.5% of the group's total sales. The deal valued it at up to £53.5M — an implicit 8.3 times FY25 EBITDA — comprising £32.6M paid at completion after adjustments, up to £3M deferred on performance, and the buyer taking on a £14.2M lease liability.

The sale is the capstone of a simplification programme RM committed to at its October 2025 equity raise: become a pure-play EdTech business centred on digital assessment. The group has already cut overheads and operating costs by about £30M over three years, moved Assessment and corporate services onto a standalone ERP in June 2026, and seen its Section 75 pension deficits fall from c.£31M at the 2024 triennial valuations to a minimal level. A further c.£5M of annualised savings is targeted by end-FY27, in full by FY28.

Proceeds of c.£31M after fees go to cutting net debt, which RM expects to reach c.£34M at 30 November 2026 — roughly half the prior level including lease liabilities. The continuing group now pins its growth on RM Ava, a single cloud-based accreditation platform spanning authoring, sitting, marking and grading exams, as key customers lay out paths to fully digital exams — and on expansion beyond education into government and professional accreditation.

Net debt halved to c.£34M; £32.6M completion cash; £14.2M lease liability removed; £30M overhead cut over three years, c.£5M more by FY28.

RM judged TTS a purely transactional business that diluted the continuing group's long-term quality of earnings.

Net debt was the binding constraint: the sale roughly halves it and strips a £14.2M lease liability from the balance sheet.

The digital-exams shift is the bet: accreditors are moving to fully digital assessment, and RM Ava is built to take that market.

Separation work done since October 2025 — standalone ERP, £30M of overhead cuts — made the carve-out executable.

A divestiture prices clarity: shedding 41.5% of revenue can still be the deal that saves the remaining 58.5% — if the overheads go with it.

The deal completed on September 29, 2026, with TTS's over 200 employees transferring to Eduviva, which intends to grow the brand internationally; TTS's senior management largely stays. RM expects net debt of c.£34M at 30 November 2026, will assess pension buy-in and buy-out options after the deficit's collapse, and continues to pursue options for its Technology business, which remains exposed to the challenging UK schools' market. The c.£5M of annualised savings is expected to be actioned by end-FY27 and fully realised in FY28.