Red Driver Training acquires Splink Industries

RED Driver Training, which is backed by the private equity firms Trimountain Partners, Ashridge Capital and Downing LLP, has completed the acquisition of Splink Industries Ltd.

Splink Industries is the creator of the James May Theory App which was launched in 2019 in partnership with the motoring presenter of BBC’s Top Gear and Amazon’s Grand Tour. The James May Theory App has a large and growing number of customers who value the app’s unique and structured approach to theory test training.

In 2021/2022 the DVSA conducted 2.46 million theory tests in the UK, a run-rate that has continued into 2023 and there’s an increasing consumer appetite to prepare and practice for the theory test using a mobile training App.

With over 1,600 driving instructors, RED Driving School operates throughout England, Scotland and Wales with significant market presence and visibility. The Company is headquartered in Billingham, County Durham and has won numerous awards such as the 2022 “National Driving School of the Year” and Feefo’s 2023 “Platinum Trusted Service Award” for customer service excellence.

Through its Corporate Driver Training division, RED also has a sizeable share of the B2B driver training sector and was named winner in the Risk Management award category by Business Car magazine.

The acquisition forms part of the digital transformation of RED Driver Training, giving the business an immediate and meaningful presence in the online training arena and will generate incremental revenue and additional new Learners for the Driving School.

The CEO of RED Driver Training is Seb Goldin, who has over 15 years of leadership experience in Driver Education.

Seb Goldin commented: “Moving into the Theory Test education space is a natural move for RED and will further cement our position as a leading Driver Education provider, adding immediate value for our customers and investors. The James May theory App is both highly rated and uniquely constructed to support our rapidly growing number of students.”

Gus Colquhoun of Splink Industries said: “Having developed the highest-rated Theory Test app over the course of the last two years, we’re delighted to be joining forces with RED, the largest driving school in the country. We’re very much looking forward to working with the RED team to develop further world-class digital driver training solutions.”