September 2021: Downing LLP (Downing) is delighted to announce its investment in Spaghetti Bridge Ltd in the UK, which is improving the lives and demonstrating strong education and care outcomes for children in the South West of England.

Spaghetti Bridge is a business that was established in 2020 alongside a highly experienced management team to build a leading Special Educational Needs (SEN) platform in the UK. It is estimated that of the 8.9 million pupils in England, 1.4 million have SEN of which approximately 300,000 are eligible for ringfenced funding under the government’s High Needs Budget.

Since inception, Spaghetti Bridge has opened two schools that are both performing well - one in Somerset in September 2020 and a second in Devon in September 2021 – with a number of other opportunities in the pipeline.

Downing’s commitment to healthcare and education has continued to grow throughout 2020-21 against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. Spaghetti Bridge is a notable example of the Development Capital team supporting the creation of a professionally run and scalable operating platform in a needs-based market that are generally underserved. Spaghetti Bridge’s senior executive team has amassed a wealth of experience and expertise in specialist education and care, and are driven to secure fantastic outcomes for every young person in their services.

Torsten Mack, Investment Director at Downing, comments: “Our investment in Spaghetti Bridge is at the heart of what drives us at Downing – a commitment to the growth and development of UK-based businesses in markets that are generally underserved. Through Spaghetti Bridge, we are proud to be supporting some of the more vulnerable members of our society by providing them with specialist care and education. We are very happy to be working with such an expert and passionate team and are excited to continue growing the company to make a positive impact on the lives of those that need it most.”

Dan Alipaz, CEO of Spaghetti Bridge, said the partnership with Downing LLP would be key to the success of the business, commenting: “We wanted a partner who shared our values and our vision for delivering the very highest quality Special Educational Needs services – the Downing team were the perfect fit. Together, with our colleagues at Spaghetti Bridge, I am confident that we can grow a group of truly outstanding SEN schools and support services across the South West. These schools will serve the children and young people who too often have to fight too hard to access the education they need and deserve.”

About Downing

Downing is a fast growing, entrepreneurial investment manager based in the City of London. We believe a great investment opportunity isn’t just financial, it’s a chance to invest in things that matter – our environment, our health, our society, our local communities and our economy. Our ability to adapt and innovate to create investment products for our customers is key to our growth and success and our core values are vital to everything we do – from the businesses we invest in to the people we hire.

About Spaghetti Bridge Ltd

Spaghetti Bridge is helping students to overcome their individual challenges and achieve personal and academic growth. We believe that through building trust and rebuilding confidence, every young person can reach his or her full potential.

At Spaghetti Bridge, our approach is entirely centred around fostering wellbeing and skills for independence. We are aiming to move away from a typical education context by replicating real world, working environments, preparing our students as they approach adulthood and arming them with the skills and knowledge they are going to need.

Spaghetti Bridge caters for pupils who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties, including associated challenging behaviours. Many of the pupils that attend the schools have additional special educational needs such as autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit and hyperactive disorders (ADHD) and communication difficulties.

Spaghetti Bridge currently has two operating SEN schools; Silver Bridge School, Taunton, Somerset and Preston Bridge School, Paignton, Devon.