Merger joins two of Florida’s leading family-owned educational providers
Gold Coast Schools, which has multiple Florida campuses and distance learning programs serving students throughout the state, acquires the IFREC Schools brand and all operations of the school.
“The acquisition of IFREC gives Gold Coast the opportunity to expand our central Florida presence with operations in Orlando, Kissimmee and Stuart,” said John Greer, Ed.D., Director of Gold Coast Schools. “This is a great opportunity for the IFREC team to join a larger organization. Combining with IFREC Schools allows us to pool resources and provide the best educational offerings in Florida to an expanded audience.”
The merger allows Gold Coast to increase its online and continuing education components while students of IFREC will have access to a broader range of courses at Gold Coast Schools including Spanish real estate courses, insurance, contractors, mortgage and appraisal.
The Institute of Florida Careers (IFREC), founded in 1983 by Dick and Judy Fryer, has become the Central Florida leader in real estate and mortgage education.
“After 37 years of owning and operating this business, we realized we have some other dreams,” said Dick Fryer, who will remain on as a consultant and who currently serves as a Governor-appointee on the Florida Real Estate Commission, where he also is a past chair. “John and Jim Greer have a bold, powerful vision for growth. I couldn’t imagine better owners to take care of the brand that my wife and I spent more than 37 years building.”
The Greer and Fryer families have known each other for 30 years and share a mutual respect for each other and a passion for excellence and customer service. Both businesses have focused on providing a superior student experience and are dedicated to helping people start new careers, providing the continuing education needed to maintain their licenses, and the professional training to help them succeed in their careers.
“As we expand our offerings into different geographic areas and new lines of business, this acquisition allows us to continue to work together and pool our resources to provide high quality courses and a superior student experience,” Greer adds. “This merger is another step in a continual plan for expansion by Gold Coast Schools. We continue to grow and expand to serve students throughout Florida and beyond.”
Together the schools will serve nearly 100,000 students annually and have combined to serve more than two million students.