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]

Lighthouse Learning
FormerlyEuroKids International
Company typePrivate
IndustryEducation
Founded2001; 23 years ago (2001) in Mumbai, India
FounderPrajodh Rajan
Vikas Phadnis
Headquarters,
India
Area served
India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Middle East
BrandsEuroKids Preschools
Kangaroo Kids International Preschools
Billabong High International Schools
EuroSchool International
Centre Point Schools Nagpur
Mother's Pet Kindergarten
RevenueIncrease450 crore (2019 [1])
OwnerKKR (90%)[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

History

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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$177 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

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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

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  • Billabong High International Schools
  • Kangaroo Kids International Pre-schools
  • EuroKids Pre-schools
  • EuroSchool Internationals
  • Centre Point Group of Schools

Financials

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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

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  • 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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Choudhari, Abhishek (25 May 2021). "Nagpur's Centre Point school group partners with Lighthouse Learning". The Times of India.
  3. ^ "EuroKids- Setting Precedents for Preschool Education During COVID-19". K12 Digest. 30 June 2020.
  4. ^ Dutta, Diksha (18 July 2013). "Gaja Capital-led investor consortium raising stake in EuroKids with further $8.3M deal". VCCircle.
  5. ^ a b c Balakrishnan, Reghu (13 September 2018). "Gaja Capital puts preschool chain EuroKids on the block". The Economic Times.
  6. ^ a b "KKR buys 90% of EuroKids in Rs 1,475 crore deal". The Times of India. 6 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Gupta, Arbind (29 August 2020). "Kangaroo Kids takes a fresh guard". Business India.
  8. ^ "EuroKids Group unveils its new identity". The Economic Times. 4 June 2021.
  9. ^ Sarkar, Brinda (19 April 2021). "EuroKids Group appoints Ashish Kashyap to its board". The Economic Times.
  10. ^ "EuroKids International appoints Dr Indu Shahani to its board". The Economic Times. 8 March 2021.
  11. ^ Sarkar, Brinda (23 February 2021). "EuroKids appoints retail veteran Bijou Kurien to its board". The Economic Times.
  12. ^ "Lighthouse Learning Launches Educator's Impact Awards". BW Education. BusinessWorld. 8 September 2021.
  13. ^ "EuroSchool Mumbai Students Excel Again!". Indiaeducationdiary. 13 July 2021.
  14. ^ "EuroKids International Awarded As The 'Best Online Children's Learning At Education Innovation Awards 2022". India Education Diary. 28 January 2022.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "EuroKids, SBI Life, Urban Ladder, A91, AZB, Brookfield among winners of VCCircle Awards". VCCircle. 27 February 2020.
  17. ^ "EuroKids International wins big at World Education Awards 2019". The Hans India. 3 December 2019.
  18. ^ "EuroKids Presented With 'The Best Education Brand' At ET Best Education Brands Awards 2018". India Education Diary. 24 April 2020.
  19. ^ "EuroKids wins Pre-School Franchisor of the Year award". EducationWorld. 13 November 2017.
  20. ^ "EuroKids International wins award". The Times of India. 2 June 2016.
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