INVESTOR CASE & STRATEGY

Fairview International PLC offers investors exposure to a 47-year education operator with a long-established IB brand, significant installed capacity, and clear structural upside. The PLC owns two campuses in Malaysia—Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Johor Bahru (JB)—supported by a wider six-campus Fairview enterprise. This enterprise provides curriculum leadership, HR and training, and IB-qualified teacher pipelines in return for HQ service fees, giving the PLC the benefits of scale without the fixed cost.

Compelling starting point.

Fairview operates in Malaysia, one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing education markets. International school enrollment has tripled over the last decade, rising from around 60,000 students to more than 180,000 (ISC Research, 2023). Middle-income households now represent over 60 percent of the population (DOSM, 2023), supporting affordability. University participation has increased by roughly 70 percent in ten years (MOHE, 2024), reflecting rising education investment across the country. These demand-side fundamentals underpin sustained growth in international schooling, especially in academically differentiated operators such as IB schools.

Significant operational leverage.

Across KL and JB, the PLC has capacity for approximately 2,250 students but currently operates far below that level. KL has 541 students against a 1,500-student capacity. JB has 186 students against a current operational capacity of ~250, with scope to scale to ~750 through refurbishment of existing built-up space. As utilization increases, earnings expand materially because the core cost base is already in place. Few listed operators offer this level of embedded upside in existing assets.

Location advantage and asset optionality.

JB sits within Iskandar, one of Malaysia’s fastest-growing economic corridors and a major destination for Singapore investment. The PLC owns 5.4 acres there, including 3.47 acres of unused, commercially zoned land. This provides two strategic advantages: natural appreciation as the corridor develops and long-term development or partnership optionality that can enhance the PLC’s asset base without overextending operational risk.

Differentiated model in a fragmented sector.

Fairview’s integrated enterprise ecosystem—particularly University College Fairview’s IB teacher-training pipeline—reduces reliance on expatriate hiring, improves academic consistency, and avoids the cost inequities common in standalone international schools. This creates a structurally lower cost base and more defensible margins. It also positions the PLC well against competitors that depend on high expatriate salary structures and generic curricula.

Multiple growth pathways

Fairview is well-positioned to achieve growth through three strategic levers:

1. Enrollment growth as KL and JB recover post-COVID and as IB demand continues to rise.

2. Real estate optionality, particularly in JB, where unused land provides long-term strategic value.

3. Selective acquisitions, including the potential consolidation of additional Fairview enterprise campuses and the identification of distressed or turnaround schools in Southeast Asia.

A resilient, asset-backed education platform.

With a proven IB brand, strong macro tailwinds, meaningful headroom, and disciplined governance, Fairview provides investors with a scalable education platform anchored in real assets and long-term structural demand.