Hall & Wilcox partner Bruce McFarlane said his firm had acted for Franklyn Scholar since its incorporation in 2007 to its establishment as a national business. Franklyn Scholar was founded by 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist Ryan Trainor.

"Our commercial team assisted Franklyn Scholar when it initially raised debt and private equity capital and then acquired five registered training organisations across Australia over the next three years.

"For Franklyn Scholar, this meant we were able to help from initial funding arrangements with banks and private equity investors to every day operational issues such as employment contracts and disputes," McFarlane said.

Hall & Wilcox partners Deborah Chew and Bruce McFarlane supervised the deal. Senior associate Oliver Jankowsky co-ordinated a team of 20 staff, including partners and lawyers, and negotiating with Kaplan advisors based in Sydney, London and Hong Kong.