EuroFinance

Behind every successful corporate growth story lies a treasury team working diligently behind the scenes, ensuring the financial engine runs smoothly. Paul Frayne-Johnson, Tax and treasury director at Cognita, a private schools group which owns and operates schools throughout various countries, recently shared the strategic decisions and milestones that defined the company’s treasury journey in 2024, highlighting lessons in global liquidity management, multi-currency strategy, and long-term stakeholder engagement.

Cognita Schools was highly commended in the Financing and Liquidity category of the EuroFinance Treasury Excellence Awards 2025 for demonstrating how strategic funding decisions can unlock global expansion. The treasury team secured new loans, repriced existing loans on better terms, and expanded its revolving credit facility. These steps supported M&A growth, reduced FX exposure, and lowered financing costs — all while navigating market volatility.

Strategic planning for ambitious growth

Cognita, a fast-growing global education group, operates across multiple geographies and currencies. According to Frayne-Johnson, the Group Finance team spent months forecasting cash flow and identifying capital requirements to support growth over 18 months. “We had three pillars of growth—M&A, greenfield development, and organic expansion—with the first two being capital-intensive,” he explained. This detailed planning revealed that Cognita needed approximately £400 million to fund its growth plans.

The team’s first step involved liaising with shareholders to determine the level of equity support that would be injected, in order to balance leverage and liquidity, ultimately strengthening lender confidence. Once shareholders’ commitments were understood, the team turned to debt markets to access the remaining capital, Frayne-Johnson added.

Debuting in the US dollar market

One of Cognita’s key milestones was its debut in the US institutional loan market. Frayne-Johnson explained that the move was driven by both internal and external factors. Internally, around 30% of the company’s EBITDA was strongly correlated to the US dollar due to significant growth in the Middle East. Externally, Cognita was reaching the top end of euro issuers within its rating category, prompting the need for diversification.

“Having all our eggs in one basket posed a risk,” said Frayne-Johnson. A year prior, a pre-marketing exercise for a dollar tranche was not viable due to size and cost considerations. By the time Cognita returned to the dollar market, conditions were favourable, enabling a well-timed, strategic entry.

Executing a multi-market funding strategy

Diversifying into a new market was not without challenges. The team had to engage new investors in the United States, carefully managing timing to navigate market volatility. Frayne-Johnson emphasised that clear dialogue with banking partners and careful planning were critical: “It just requires holding your nerve and having open conversations about the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.”

Strengthening global banking relationships

Another strategic achievement was increasing Cognita’s revolving credit facility (RCF) while bringing on a new Asian banking partner. The treasury team negotiated with the ten existing RCF lending banks to increase their participations, using long-term relationships cultivated over several years. “It was the culmination of over five years of relationship building,” Frayne-Johnson noted, adding that the new partnership in Singapore provided an important avenue for group-level liquidity.

Lessons in treasury and FX management

Frayne-Johnson shared three key takeaways for teams managing global FX risk while pursuing growth:

1. Diversify sources of liquidity: Overexposure to a single market increases risk. By accessing both Euro and Dollar markets, Cognita reduced its need for costly hedging and reduced its cost of debt.
2. Foster long-term relationships: Active banking partners and rating agencies accelerate execution and provide a head start during significant financing events.
3. Plan and communicate proactively: Ongoing dialogue with shareholders, banking partners, and rating agencies ensures alignment and confidence in strategic objectives.

A treasury journey defined by maturity

When asked to summarise Cognita’s treasury journey in one word, Frayne-Johnson chose “maturity.” The company’s recognition that it needed to diversify beyond the Euro market and nurture banking relationships underscored a strategic evolution in how treasury supports corporate growth.

Cognita’s 2024 treasury journey demonstrates that meticulous planning, multi-market diversification, and proactive relationship management are not just finance operations—they are strategic levers that enable sustainable growth in a complex global environment.