The British Council, a UK-based cultural organisation that operates in over 100 countries, is facing financial peril and is selling "everything" to survive, its chief executive, Scott McDonald, said earlier this week. He has sought financial help from the British government to help it tide over the crisis.


British Council to close operations in 35 countries

British Council will sell its English language testing business, IELTS, in India to IDP for £130 million.

IDP Education Ltd., an Australian listed entity, is an international education service facilitating international students’ study in western, English-speaking countries.

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is one of the world’s most popular English language tests.

The score of IELTS is usually taken as a basis by international universities to evaluate a candidate’s proficiency in the language.

This exam was controlled by IDP Education and British Council separately. However, recently, in an announcement, IDP reported that it will be acquiring 100 per cent of British Council India’s IELTS business.

The deal has reached a conclusion for £130mn on a debt free, cash free basis. In addition to this, all British Council India IELTS employees will be shifted to the IDP team when the deal is completed with all formalities in August 2021.

"It was a pleasure to act for our client IDP on this strategically important transaction in India. We look forward to the future success of the business,"&nbsp;corporate partner Arthur Stewart said about the deal.

This deal will help the Indian students as now there will be no service interruption during the British Council’s transfer of operations to IDP and students will continue studying and preparing the long-established IELTS programme.

"The deal is significant from an India perspective given its size and scale and reflects the continued interest that India is generating around the world. The sector is also particularly exciting," counsel and head of the India group for UK corporate, Shashwat Patel said.

International law firm Simmons &amp; Simmons and Indian law firm DSK Legal have jointly advised IDP Education Ltd. throughout the deal.

Talking about the deal, DSK's corporate M&amp;A partners Aparajit Bhattacharya said, "It was a pleasure for us here at DSK Legal, India to act for IDP Education on this landmark transaction. Spread across three jurisdictions (India, UK and Australia), the entire team came out strong working together through the pandemic to create a win-win for all stakeholders."

British Council will sell its English language testing business, IELTS, in India to IDP for £130 million. IDP Education Ltd., an Australian listed entity, is an international education service facilitating international students’ study in western, English-speaking countries.

British Council will sell its English language testing business, IELTS, in India to IDP for £130 million. IDP Education Ltd., an Australian listed entity, is an international education service facilitating international students’ study in western, English-speaking countries. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is one of the world’s most popular English language tests. The score of IELTS is usually taken as a basis by international universities to evaluate a candidate’s proficiency in the language. This exam was controlled by IDP Education and British Council separately. However, recently, in an announcement, IDP reported that it will be acquiring 100 per cent of British Council India’s IELTS business. The deal has reached a conclusion for £130mn on a debt free, cash free basis. In addition to this, all British Council India IELTS employees will be shifted to the IDP team when the deal is completed with all formalities in August 2021. "It was a pleasure to act for our client IDP on this strategically important transaction in India. We look forward to the future success of the business," corporate partner Arthur Stewart said about the deal. This deal will help the Indian students as now there will be no service interruption during the British Council’s transfer of operations to IDP and students will continue studying and preparing the long-established IELTS programme. "The deal is significant from an India perspective given its size and scale and reflects the continued interest that India is generating around the world. The sector is also particularly exciting," counsel and head of the India group for UK corporate, Shashwat Patel said. International law firm Simmons & Simmons and Indian law firm DSK Legal have jointly advised IDP Education Ltd. throughout the deal. Talking about the deal, DSK's corporate M&A partners Aparajit Bhattacharya said, "It was a pleasure for us here at DSK Legal, India to act for IDP Education on this landmark transaction. Spread across three jurisdictions (India, UK and Australia), the entire team came out strong working together through the pandemic to create a win-win for all stakeholders."

IDP to buy British Council India's English testing service IELTS for £130 million

An Iranian woman who worked for the British Council was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "spying", the judiciary's news website Mizan Online reported Monday, sparking concern in London.

"An Iranian citizen in charge of the Iran desk at the... British Council was cooperating with English spying agencies," Mizan reported, quoting judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.

He did not identify the suspect, but said she had been sentenced recently after she "made a straightforward confession".

Esmaili added that the suspect, who had been tasked with drawing up and managing cultural "infiltration" projects, had been arrested by Iranian intelligence and security agencies "more than a year ago".

The United Kingdom's foreign ministry voiced concern over the sentence.&nbsp;

"We are very concerned by reports that an Iranian British Council employee has been sentenced to jail on charges of espionage," a spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office told AFP.

"British Embassy officials in Tehran are in touch with the Iranian government to seek further information."

The British Council is a cultural and educational organisation with branches around the world, but according to its website, it is not "physically present" in Iran.

Iranian authorities shut down the British Council more than a decade ago for what Esmaili described as "illegal activities".

Esmaili said that during her confession, the suspect described how she had been recruited, telling investigators about the instructions she had been given by "the English security agency".

The spokesman said that she was "an Iranian student who wanted to live and work in the UK", was hired by the British Council and "repeatedly travelled to Iran under aliases... and made connections with artists and theatre groups".

A London-based British Council employee was arrested in Iran in 2018 during a trip to visit relatives.

It was not immediately clear if she was the person sentenced on Monday.

The sentencing comes amid tensions between Iran and Britain over the fate of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was arrested by Iranian authorities in 2016 as she was leaving Tehran.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was put on trial and is now serving a five-year jail sentence for allegedly trying to topple the Iranian government.

An Iranian woman who worked for the British Council was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "spying", the judiciary's news website Mizan Online reported Monday, sparking concern in London.

An Iranian woman who worked for the British Council was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "spying", the judiciary's news website Mizan Online reported Monday, sparking concern in London. "An Iranian citizen in charge of the Iran desk at the... British Council was cooperating with English spying agencies," Mizan reported, quoting judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili. He did not identify the suspect, but said she had been sentenced recently after she "made a straightforward confession". Esmaili added that the suspect, who had been tasked with drawing up and managing cultural "infiltration" projects, had been arrested by Iranian intelligence and security agencies "more than a year ago". The United Kingdom's foreign ministry voiced concern over the sentence. "We are very concerned by reports that an Iranian British Council employee has been sentenced to jail on charges of espionage," a spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office told AFP. "British Embassy officials in Tehran are in touch with the Iranian government to seek further information." The British Council is a cultural and educational organisation with branches around the world, but according to its website, it is not "physically present" in Iran. Iranian authorities shut down the British Council more than a decade ago for what Esmaili described as "illegal activities". Esmaili said that during her confession, the suspect described how she had been recruited, telling investigators about the instructions she had been given by "the English security agency". The spokesman said that she was "an Iranian student who wanted to live and work in the UK", was hired by the British Council and "repeatedly travelled to Iran under aliases... and made connections with artists and theatre groups". A London-based British Council employee was arrested in Iran in 2018 during a trip to visit relatives. It was not immediately clear if she was the person sentenced on Monday. The sentencing comes amid tensions between Iran and Britain over the fate of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was arrested by Iranian authorities in 2016 as she was leaving Tehran. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was put on trial and is now serving a five-year jail sentence for allegedly trying to topple the Iranian government.

Iran's British Council employee sentenced to 10 years for 'spying'

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British Council to close operations in 35 countries

IDP to buy British Council India's English testing service IELTS for £130 million

Iran's British Council employee sentenced to 10 years for 'spying'