The College of Law (CoL) has formed a strategic collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Legal Education with a view to establishing a permanent presence in the state. The move is expected to be the first of many such projects made possible by the college’s new ownership structure.

The CoL, which last month announced the sale of its business and brand to a new company owned by Montagu Private Equity, is to work with the Singapore Institute to develop new learning programmes for aspiring and qualified lawyers.

This initial collaboration is expected to lead to the CoL having a permanent base in Singapore from which it can ‘support the strategic aspirations of our English law firm clients who are investing heavily in Singapore and the wider region,’ CoL chief executive Nigel Savage said.

Savage said that the Singapore project was part of the CoL’s strategic review before the sale to Montague, but was typical of the types of initiative that it can now implement. ‘Our vision is to be the leading world-class professional law school. We have an experienced and well-resourced partner in Montagu to help us enhance our core values of world-class and innovative teaching focused on employability.’

The £200m proceeds from the sale of the CoL, which has charitable status and owns a portfolio of city centre property in London and other cities, will fund hundreds of bursaries for law students every year through a new entity, the Legal Education Foundation.