PeopleCert Group (EBRD-56436)

Regions
  • Europe and Central Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Greece
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
C
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Nov 18, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
PeopleCert Group
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Education and Health
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 23.17 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 20
Converted using 2025-11-18 exchange rate.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 23.17 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 20
Converted using 2025-11-18 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 527.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 455
Converted using 2025-11-18 exchange rate.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Jan 12, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Dec 24, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated on the project disclosure page, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invested EUR 20 million in a EUR 300 million, 5.5-years, senior secured corporate bond issued by the PeopleCert Group.

Proceeds will be used to (i) refinance PeopleCert's existing EUR 300 million bond and (ii) finance the acquisition of the commercial awarding and skills training activities of the City & Guilds of London for approximately GBP 183 million.

The Transition Impact derives from the following transition qualities:

  • Inclusive (primary) due to the establishment of the PeopleCert Academy and various new training modules in digital and soft skills, targeting at least 420 employees in Greece by the start of 2030.
  • Competitive (secondary) due to synergies and cross-sell opportunities anticipated from the acquisition, as well as the capacity to offer new revenue lines and address new market segments for PeopleCert.
Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EBRD, the Client's primary business is providing professional certifications in the areas of IT, project management and language skills. Specifically:

  • PeopleCert Group is a global leader in professional skills assessment and certification, headquartered in Athens with 85% of staff and all key functions in Greece.
  • City & Guilds is a UK-based vocational education pioneer with 150 years of history, offering qualifications and training across multiple sectors, generating c. GBP 160m in revenue
Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
City & Guilds of London Ltd. Undisclosed Education and Health contracts with PeopleCert Group Client Education and Health

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client - PeopleCert Group:

Petros Lampropoulos (VP Corporate Development & Investor Relations)
Email: petros.lampropoulos@peoplecert.org 
Phone: +44 020 3564 7044
Website: https://www.peoplecert.org/ 
Address: 3 Korai Square, 10564, Athens

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html

How it works

How it works