CGA, the global food and drink data and research consultancy have just announced the acquisition of CPL Training Group, a privately-held, training and development company specialising in serving the hospitality and consumer retail industries.
The acquisition reunites CPL Training with CPL Online who became part of CGA in March 2018.
Pictured (L to R): Jon Collins, Louise Sui and Phil Tate
CPL Training Group, based in Birkenhead, is one of the largest providers of personal licence training in the UK, employing 31 people and training over 20,000 individuals across the UK hospitality and retail sectors. Clients include Stonegate Pub Company, Mitchells & Butlers, Greene King and retail leader Asda.
“From the moment we bought CPL Online, there was a compelling logic to maximise the opportunity by then acquiring CPL Training. Of course, the time had to be right for both parties and I am delighted that that time is now”
“We now map and measure the hospitality and consumer retail market and support clients even better with training and development, licensing, human resources and retention. This acquisition demonstrates CGA’s commitment to driving growth and innovation while supporting one of the most vital parts of the out-of-home industry: its people,” added Tate.
At a time when businesses face significant economic and competitive pressure, delivering great service and creating a memorable customer experience is key to encouraging repeat visits and increased spend per head. In fact, the 2019 Business Leaders’ Survey from CGA and CPL Online found that 62% of business leaders are planning to increase investment in employee engagement and see it as the number one planned area of investment in 2019. Nearly three in four (71%) cited staff retention as very important to the success of their business in 2019 and more than half (56%) think the same about staff recruitment.
Clients will benefit from a more robust service offering and superior training and licensing, led by a focused leadership team deeply committed to improving the industry. Jon Collins, current Executive Chairman of CPL Online and former Chief Executive of CGA, will oversee the integration of CPL Training into the CGA Group.
This CGA acquisition will also drive higher standards and facilitate more seamless, blended learning to employees to fulfil the development strategies for any organisation. With new offerings such as the 2019 Console Learning Management System (LMS) recently launched, companies are already benefiting from an integrated single access point to CPL’s courses and its built-in engagement, learning and communication tools.
