Taaleem – Alan Williamson (IPO Stories, Ep. 26)

In this episode, we explore the journey of Taaleem, a leading operator of international private schools in the UAE, and its path to becoming one of the few listed education providers globally. Alan Williamson, the CEO of Taaleem, shares his experience taking Taaleem public in Dubai in November 2022.

With Alan, we delve into the role of private education in the UAE, the unique challenges and opportunities of listing in a sector with few listed peers globally, and the positive impacts of raising capital for Taaleem’s growth. We also discuss Alan’s outlook for the education sector in the UAE and the broader GCC region.

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Disclaimer: this discussion is not financial advice, nor an investment recommendation, nor a solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments, or an offer for financial services or any other transaction. The information contained in the recording have no contractual value and are destined for an informational purpose only. Amundsen Investment Management and the participants on this podcast may have holdings in the companies being discussed.

[0:13] Gautier Rousseau: Today we talk with Alan Williamson, CEO of Taleem, an operator of international private schools in the UAE. Taleem, which means “education” in Arabic, is one of the few listed education providers globally and listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in November 2022. 

Alan knows the education business inside out, having been a teacher, headmaster, and now a leader of school groups. 

[1:02] Gautier Rousseau: With Alan, we discuss the role of private education in the UAE, his experience of listing a company in a sector with few listed peers, the positive effects of being listed, and his outlook for future IPOs in the region. 

[1:42] Gautier Rousseau: Alan, thank you very much for joining the show today. It’s great to have a UAE company on the podcast. Maybe we can start with you introducing yourself. 

 

Background and Path to Taleem 

[1:53] Alan Williamson: It’s a pleasure to be here. I’m Alan Williamson, CEO of Taleem. We were the first education group to IPO in the UAE, and I’m very proud of that. 

My background is quite varied — I started as a military officer, then moved into education administration, running several schools in the UK before coming to the UAE over ten years ago. 

Since then, I’ve had the honor of leading two major education groups, and I joined Taleem five years ago. Taking it public was a fantastic achievement for a wonderful company. 

 

IPO Rationale and Timing 

[2:42] Gautier Rousseau: You joined five years before the listing, which happened in late 2022. Did you expect that when you arrived? What drove the decision to go public? 

[2:56] Alan Williamson: From the outset, the board of Taleem — many of whom have been with us since the company’s founding 20 years ago — had the vision of eventually listing. 

They started Taleem at a time when there were very few outstanding schools in the UAE, and their goal was to transform education for both expatriate and Emirati students, while also creating a way to invest in the education sector. 

So 20 years later, IPO’ing the company was the natural next step. 

It’s crucial that the board and management are aligned on growth and purpose before an IPO. When I joined, we already had a strong base — around eight schools — and were expanding rapidly through public-private partnerships (PPP). 

The UAE and Dubai governments were also encouraging key companies, including private-sector ones, to list. It felt like a natural evolution. 

 

Listing in a Strong Market 

[4:22] Gautier Rousseau: 2022 saw a wave of IPOs in the region — Salik, Empower, Burjeel, among others. Did that influence your timing? 

[4:54] Alan Williamson: Definitely. 

IPO activity in Western markets was slowing, but the UAE was booming post-COVID, supported by high oil prices and strong macro momentum. 

There was a clear push to bring successful companies — both public and private — to market. 

We raised AED 750 million with a clear plan: to build four new schools. The population was growing rapidly — 90% of Dubai is expatriate — and every child here attends a private school. 

The demand for quality education is immense. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have some of the world’s best schools, and we wanted to add to that ecosystem. 

 

A Growth IPO 

[7:37] Gautier Rousseau: So it was a primary issuance — a growth IPO, not a sell-down? 

[7:57] Alan Williamson: Exactly. 

The big government-linked IPOs were mainly dividend plays. We’re a growth story, although we also pay a dividend. 

There was huge excitement — not only because we were the first education IPO in the UAE, but also because there are so few listed K-12 groups globally. 

Education IPOs are rare, so we attracted a lot of attention. 

 

The Transparency Question 

[8:57] Gautier Rousseau: Education is a sensitive sector with many stakeholders — regulators, parents, teachers. Did going public and opening your books to the market concern you? 

[9:30] Alan Williamson: That’s a fair question. 

But in the UAE, the context is very different from Europe or the U.S. where education is largely public and non-profit. 

Here, 90% of families rely on private schools. Parents are used to private-sector operators and understand that profitability supports quality and reinvestment. 

Transparency felt natural. If you’re asking parents to entrust their children to you, you should be open about your operations and finances. 

Our philosophy is “values-based, best-value education” — premium but accessible. 

Our parents are professionals — bankers, doctors, lawyers — who appreciate transparency and quality. 

 

Becoming a True Public Company 

[12:26] Alan Williamson: After the IPO, we went from 98 shareholders to 8,000 shareholders. 

Parents and staff bought shares. That’s the beauty of being a public company — we became literally owned by the public. 

It sits comfortably with our values. 

 

Asset-Heavy vs. Asset-Light 

[13:32] Gautier Rousseau: Unlike many education providers, you chose to own your school buildings. Why? 

[14:12] Alan Williamson: It’s a question we get often. 

In the UAE, many schools prefer an asset-light model — leasing or build-to-suit — to reduce upfront costs. But that can create pressure when student numbers take time to ramp up. 

Private equity or landlords expecting fixed yields force schools to cut costs, reduce teachers, and compromise quality — it’s a vicious cycle. 

By owning our land and buildings, we stay in control of our destiny. 

Once a school reaches full enrolment and repays its investment — typically within eight to nine years — it generates long-term returns for decades. 

It’s capital-intensive, yes, but it protects quality and ensures sustainability. 

 

Growth Strategy 

[18:12] Gautier Rousseau: Your IPO story combined proven track record with new greenfield projects. Has the listing also opened M&A opportunities? 

[19:09] Alan Williamson: Absolutely. 

We see enormous organic growth ahead — the UAE alone expects 65,000 additional school-aged children in the coming years. 

We’re adding 8,000 new seats — a fraction of that demand. 

But we also have M&A optionality. We completed a successful acquisition just before the IPO, turning around a struggling school that’s now full and thriving. 

We’ll pursue M&A selectively — value-accretive deals in the premium or early-years segments that complement our core. 

We raised AED 725 million net of IPO costs, and we have the balance sheet to move quickly when opportunities arise. 

 

Trailblazing the Sector 

[23:45] Gautier Rousseau: Do you expect more education companies to follow your path? 

[24:10] Alan Williamson: I think so. 

We’ve shown that education groups can list successfully, operate transparently, and access capital efficiently. 

Our governance is strong, and our ESG agenda is real — 36,000 students who constantly push us to do better. 

We’ve also proven that being listed gives you agility and credibility. 

 

Preparing for the IPO 

[27:26] Gautier Rousseau: How long did you prepare before listing? 

[27:45] Alan Williamson: About eight months of intense work. 

Governance came first — we already had strong foundations but tightened compliance, documentation, and board structure. 

The key players were our banks (Emirates NBD and EFG Hermes) and our legal advisors. The sparring with the banks was especially valuable — testing our growth story, refining the five- and ten-year vision, and ensuring consistency. 

The process accelerates fast in the final six months — early looks, deep dives, analyst presentations — all helping sharpen the message. 

 

Practical Lessons 

[31:24] Alan Williamson: One big lesson: you still have to run the business while doing the IPO. 

We appointed an external advisor to coordinate between banks, lawyers, auditors, and our team — essentially a project manager for the IPO. 

He later joined the company full-time as our Senior Finance Director, which says a lot about how well it worked. 

Also — take a one-week break mid-process. You’ll need it. The pace is relentless, and the clarity it gives is invaluable. 

 

Investor Engagement 

[34:34] Gautier Rousseau: How many investor meetings did you do before the bookbuilding? 

[34:58] Alan Williamson: Hundreds — definitely over 300. 

You meet investors across time zones — the UK, U.S., Saudi, Europe. It’s intense but energizing. 

Investors want to meet management because they’re not just buying the company — they’re buying the team. 

Authenticity matters. Be transparent, show ambition, but stay grounded. 

 

Learning from Feedback 

[38:00] Gautier Rousseau: Did investor feedback change how you viewed the business? 

[38:16] Alan Williamson: It did. 

Some investors encouraged us to highlight our public-private partnership vertical more strongly — we had initially underplayed it. 

Others pushed us to articulate our stance on Saudi Arabia — a huge opportunity but not one to rush into. 

These insights refined our story and strengthened confidence. 

 

Post-IPO Life 

[44:01] Gautier Rousseau: Two years on, you’ve delivered your IPO plan. How do you manage the balance between growth ambition and delivery discipline? 

[41:14] Alan Williamson: Our board plays a key role in setting realistic, deliverable targets. 

Yes, we could build eight or twelve schools, but if you open too many too fast, you risk quality. 

In education, reputation is everything. Open fewer schools, get them right — they’ll last for decades. 

 

Investor Relations and Shareholder Base 

[44:26] Gautier Rousseau: How do you engage with investors post-IPO? 

[44:26] Alan Williamson: We meet investors every week — not always the same ones — and attend major conferences in Dubai, London, and New York. 

We see it as a learning process. We log every question and take the themes back to management and the board. 

Roughly 60–65% of our shareholders are institutional, with the rest being retail investors — including parents and staff, which I love. 

 

Managing Volatility 

[47:09] Gautier Rousseau: IPOs can be volatile early on. How did you handle that? 

[47:23] Alan Williamson: Yes, we saw some early volatility — typical for a new listing in a new sector. 

Our chairman, Khalid Al Tayer, gave me unforgettable advice moments before the bell: 

“Focus on the strategy, not the share price. Deliver the plan, and the share price will look after itself.” 

It’s advice I live by. 

 

Liquidity and Follow-Ons 

[49:26] Gautier Rousseau: You’ve already seen one post-IPO placing. Do you expect more? 

[49:56] Alan Williamson: Yes, eventually. 

The challenge is that when you’re doing well, shareholders don’t want to sell! 

But we expect more free-float increases over time as we grow and attract new investors. 

 

The Broader UAE Pipeline 

[51:22] Gautier Rousseau: Why are most UAE IPOs still government-linked rather than family-owned? 

[51:52] Alan Williamson: It’s a matter of maturity. 

The government’s strategy was right — start with large state assets, build market confidence, and others will follow. 

Now private companies like Taleem and Spinneys are listing successfully, and momentum is building. 

The UAE is economically and politically stable, and the DFM has been proactive and supportive throughout. 

More family-owned businesses will follow — it’s a natural progression. 

 

Final Advice 

[54:21] Gautier Rousseau: If you could change anything about the IPO process, what would it be? 

[54:49] Alan Williamson: Honestly, not much. 

The DFM and regulators were incredibly supportive — responsive, accessible, and clear. 

My only advice: ensure you have enough senior capacity internally during those intense months, and time the process during a natural business lull — for schools, that’s summer. 

 

Closing Thoughts 

[57:50] Gautier Rousseau: Any final reflections? 

[58:07] Alan Williamson: I’ve loved every minute. 

If the government asked me to do it again elsewhere, I’d gladly serve. 

And whenever the numbers feel heavy, I walk into a kindergarten and read to the children — that’s what this is all about. 

[58:52] Gautier Rousseau: That’s a perfect note to end on. Alan, thank you very much for your time. 

[59:03] Alan Williamson: Thank you — it’s been a pleasure. 

[59:05] Gautier Rousseau: Thank you for listening to IPO Stories. 

In future episodes, we’ll host CEOs, CFOs, advisors, and other participants in the IPO process to learn from their experiences — like Alan Williamson today. 

If you enjoy the show, please follow us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, share it with others, and send your questions to contact@ipostories.com. 

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