30 September 2022

Starcrest Education Limited

("Starcrest" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Board Appointment

Appointment of Executive Director and Chief Academic Officer

Starcrest Education Limited (LSE: OBOR), the international developer and operator of education services in Europe, is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Nick Petford to the Board as Executive Director and Chief Academic Officer, effective from 1 October 2022, following a special Board Meeting, held on Saturday, 24 September 2022.

Professor Petford re-joins the Board, having held the role as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company from 31 January 2019 until 4 April 2022. His appointment is conditional on satisfaction of due diligence.

Professor Petford DSc DL, is Managing Director of APSC-Ltd, a consultancy that provides advice to the UK and overseas University sector. For 12 years, until 31 July 2022, he was Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer at the University of Northampton. He is a former Royal Society University Research Fellow and Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, and visiting professor at Macquarie University, Sydney and the Communications University, Beijing. In 2019, Professor Petford was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Northamptonshire.

Professor Petford has extensive experience serving on professional bodies at board level. Currently, he is a Director of Fluvial Innovations Limited, a university spin-out company that manufactures and sells flood defence barriers. He also sits on the Science & Parliamentary Committee. He formerly held the role of Chair of the Northamptonshire Health and Wellbeing Board and was previously a board member of the Universities and Colleges Employers' Association and Universities UK and, from 2015 to 2021, a board member of UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs. He recently joined the Regent Group as a member of their Advisory Board. 

A geologist by training, with a Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of Liverpool, Professor Petford has worked in industry and on academic and commercial research projects across the world. 

He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and the Royal Society of the Arts, and member of the American Geophysical Union. He has an Honorary DSc from Amity University, India, and is a graduate of Harvard Business School.

There are no further matters to be disclosed in accordance with LR 9.6.13.

Jeff Zhang, Executive Director of Starcrest, commented:

"We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Nick Petford as Executive Director and Chief Academic Officer, welcoming him back to the Starcrest Board.

"Nick was a valued member of the Starcrest team during his time as Independent Non-Executive Director and his re-appointment to the Board comes at a pivotal time in the Company's journey. His wealth of experience speaks for itself, with multiple board roles and senior academic appointments across the UK and the world, as well as an extensive list of published works.

"We welcome Nick's invaluable insight and look forward to working with him as we continue to move the Company forward."

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Notes to editors:

Starcrest is an international developer and operator of education services in Europe. The Company was established to seek acquisition opportunities in the international education sector and to provide premier education services and products in the UK and to countries in Europe. 

Starcrest listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 31 January 2019 under the ticker symbol (LSE: OBOR). Further information can be found on the Company's website at https://www.starcresteducation.com.