Litorina acquires Leo’s Lekland

Leo’s Lekland was founded in Luleå in 2006 by the company’s CEO, Joakim Gunler, and Jonas Rönnqvist. In recent years, the company has grown significantly, primarily by opening play centres in additional locations, through the acquisition of Norway’s largest play centre chain, and by expanding a number of existing play centres. Leo’s Lekland currently operates thirteen play centres in Sweden, nine in Norway and one in Denmark, and is poised for further expansion in the Nordic region.

Kooperativa Förbundet via KFI Kapital has chosen to dispose of Leo’s Lekland as part of its strategy to streamline its operations, and key personnel within the company have chosen to re-invest together with Litorina.

“We look forward to working with Litorina to keep developing Leo’s Lekland into Europe’s leading play centre player. Our cooperation with Litorina will bring additional resources, enabling the company to continue establishing new play centres, as well as industrial support, allowing the company to develop the concept further and to improve its existing highly developed operations. All in all, this should mean that we can further strengthen our brand with consumers” says Joakim Gunler, co-founder and CEO of Leo’s Lekland.

“Leo’s Lekland is a high quality Swedish company with a market-leading position within its niche in the Nordic region. We are impressed by what the management has achieved with the company, and we are proud and delighted to have the opportunity to continue developing Leo’s Lekland together with them” adds Lars Verneholt, Partner at Litorina Capital Advisors, investment advisor for Litorina IV.

For further information, please contact:

Lars Verneholt, +46 (0)8 545 180 11, Partner at Litorina Capital Advisors AB
Joakim Gunler, +46 (0)70 553 30 21, CEO of Leo’s Lekland

Litorina, founded in 1998, is a private equity firm that focuses on acquiring and industrially developing primarily Swedish companies together with their managements. Litorina offers broad and deep expertise both via its own organisation and through its network of industrial advisors. Litorina Capital Advisors AB acts as an investment advisor to Litorina’s active funds. Litorina is backed by a number of venerable and reputable institutions who have together invested approximately SEK 4.8 billion in Litorina’s four funds. For more information, see www.litorina.se.

Leo’s Lekland is Scandinavia’s leading play centre chain, with 23 play centres (of which one is franchised) in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. In 2013, the group had a turnover of SEK 223 million and 184 employees. Its head office is in Luleå. For more information, see www.leoslekland.se.