Lighthouse Learning (formerly known as EuroKids International Group) is a group of private educational institutions in India which runs a chain of schools and pre-schools with EuroKids, Kangaroo Kids, EuroSchool, Billabong High International School and Centre Point Group of Schools.[1] It runs 1,200 pre-schools and 44 K-12 schools in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Middle East.[2] It was founded in 2001. A variety of private equity firms including KKR, Partners Group have had or have stake in the company.[1]
| Formerly | EuroKids International |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Education |
| Founded | 2001 in Mumbai, India |
| Founder | Prajodh Rajan Vikas Phadnis |
| Headquarters | , India |
Area served | India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Middle East |
| Brands | EuroKids Preschools Kangaroo Kids International Preschools Billabong High International Schools EuroSchool International Centre Point Schools Nagpur Mother's Pet Kindergarten |
| Revenue |  ₹450 crore (2019 [1]) |
| Owner | KKR (90%)[1] |
| Website | Official website |
History edit
The company was founded as EuroKids International in 2001 by Prajodh Rajan and Vikas Phadnis. It entered the K12 segment with a series of EuroSchools in 2009.[3] In 2013, its 50% stake was acquired by Gaja Capital along with its Swiss investor Partners Group,[4] later increasing their shareholding in the company to 75% as the company acquired Kangaroo Kids and Billabong International High Schools franchises in 2017 to expand its business.[1][5] In November 2019, its 90% stake was acquired by US-based Private equity firm KKR for ₹1,475 crore (US$185 million),[6] making it one of the largest foreign investments in India's educational sector.[7] The company was renamed Lighthouse Learning from EuroKids Group in 2021.[8]
The company has appointed Ibibo founder Ashish Kashyap,[9] educationist Indu Shahani[10] and Retailers Association of India chairman Bijou Kurien[11] to its board in 2021. In May 2021, it acquired Nagpur-based Centre Point Group of Schools (CPS). However, the company did not disclose the extent of dilution in holdings of the CPS Group.[2] In September 2021, the company launched its first edition of Educator's Impact Awards on Teacher's Day.[12]
Operations edit
The company owns and operates preschool brands like EuroKids Preschool, Kangaroo Kids Pre-schools, Mother's Pet and K12 schools - EuroSchool International, Billabong High International School,[5] Centre Point School in Nagpur serving more than 1,50,000 students[13][6] Kangaroo Kids has a network of 110 pre-schools, while Billabong High International School has a network of 35 schools, as of 2020.[7] Billabong High International Schools, which offers the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) boards, from pre-school through Grade 12, has its presence in Qatar, Dubai, Maldives and Saudi Arabia. The group operates and manages its own pre-schools and schools and also operates through the franchise model across India.[5][7]
Chains of schools edit
- Billabong High International Schools
- Kangaroo Kids International Pre-schools
- EuroKids Pre-schools
- EuroSchool Internationals
- Centre Point Group of Schools
Financials edit
The group reported revenue of ₹350 crore in FY2018 and in FY2019, its revenue was ₹450 crore. It has been growing around 22% per year.[1]
Awards and recognition edit
- In January 2020, the company was awarded the Best Online Children's Learning Award at the Education Innovation Awards under a pre-school category by Entrepreneur India and Franchise India.[14]
- It was named the Most Trusted Brand in the education category as per the TRA's Brand Trust Report 2020.[15]
- It was named Education Company of the Year by the VCCircle in 2020.[16]
- It won the Leading Preschool Chain (National)' and 'Innovation in Curriculum in Early Childhood Development' Award at World Education Award 2019.[17]
- The company was awarded as the 'Best Education Brand of 2018: Pre-School & Nursery Category' by The Economic Times. The award was bestowed by Maharshtra's Minister of Education, Vinod Tawde.[18]
- The company was awarded the 'Pre-School Franchisor of The Year' in the Business World Education's 'Top Education Brands In India' list 2017.[19]
- In 2016, it won the Indian Education Awards 2016 under the category Innovation in Early Learning at the Indian Education Congress Awards 2016.[20]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f Lall, Pavan (14 August 2019). "PE firm KKR enters education sector in India, buys 90% stake in EuroKids". Business Standard.
- ^ a b Choudhari, Abhishek (25 May 2021). "Nagpur's Centre Point school group partners with Lighthouse Learning". The Times of India.
- ^ "EuroKids- Setting Precedents for Preschool Education During COVID-19". K12 Digest. 30 June 2020.
- ^ Dutta, Diksha (18 July 2013). "Gaja Capital-led investor consortium raising stake in EuroKids with further $8.3M deal". VCCircle.
- ^ a b c Balakrishnan, Reghu (13 September 2018). "Gaja Capital puts preschool chain EuroKids on the block". The Economic Times.
- ^ a b "KKR buys 90% of EuroKids in Rs 1,475 crore deal". The Times of India. 6 September 2019.
- ^ a b c Gupta, Arbind (29 August 2020). "Kangaroo Kids takes a fresh guard". Business India.
- ^ "EuroKids Group unveils its new identity". The Economic Times. 4 June 2021.
- ^ Sarkar, Brinda (19 April 2021). "EuroKids Group appoints Ashish Kashyap to its board". The Economic Times.
- ^ "EuroKids International appoints Dr Indu Shahani to its board". The Economic Times. 8 March 2021.
- ^ Sarkar, Brinda (23 February 2021). "EuroKids appoints retail veteran Bijou Kurien to its board". The Economic Times.
- ^ "Lighthouse Learning Launches Educator's Impact Awards". BW Education. BusinessWorld. 8 September 2021.
- ^ "EuroSchool Mumbai Students Excel Again!". Indiaeducationdiary. 13 July 2021.
- ^ "EuroKids International Awarded As The 'Best Online Children's Learning At Education Innovation Awards 2022". India Education Diary. 28 January 2022.
- ^ "EuroKids International emerges as the Most Trusted Brand in the Education category in TRA's Brand Trust Report (BTR) 2020". Higher Education Digest. 4 December 2020.
- ^ "EuroKids, SBI Life, Urban Ladder, A91, AZB, Brookfield among winners of VCCircle Awards". VCCircle. 27 February 2020.
- ^ "EuroKids International wins big at World Education Awards 2019". The Hans India. 3 December 2019.
- ^ "EuroKids Presented With 'The Best Education Brand' At ET Best Education Brands Awards 2018". India Education Diary. 24 April 2020.
- ^ "EuroKids wins Pre-School Franchisor of the Year award". EducationWorld. 13 November 2017.
- ^ "EuroKids International wins award". The Times of India. 2 June 2016.
