CORPORATE finance specialists from Fanshawe Lofts in Southampton have completed a management buyout of Coxlease School near Lyndhurst.

In an unusual deal in the education sector, Rosemary Penn-Newman of Fanshawe Lofts led the buyout on behalf of the school's long established management team.

The buyout, funded by LloydsTSB, secures the long-term future of the school with ownership now in the hands of principal Steven Cliffen and bursar John Colclough.

Previously family owned, the highly respected school was established in 1982 and provides residential educational facilities for boys with special needs aged between nine and 17.

The school's underpinning ethos is to provide a stable environment for boys with special needs because of intellectual, behavioural, social and emotional problems.

"We are now looking enthusiastically to the future," explains Mr Cliffen. "Our aim is to ensure that each of our boys has the opportunity to develop his abilities and skills to their fullest potential."

Rosemary Penn-Newman says: "This was an interesting and rewarding project to lead. Coxlease is a benchmark in the field of special education. I have no doubt that its new management team will continue to set and maintain the highest of educational and care standards."

The legal aspects of the MBO were dealt with by Lynn Knight of Blake Lapthorn, solicitors.