Great Britain Joins the KidZania Nation!
London, United Kingdom. KidZania Journal. February 26, 2012. (English). KidZania proudly announces a new license agreement with Longshot Kids Ltd. to bring KidZania to Great Britain by 2014! Longshot Kids Ltd., an affiliate of Longshot Ltd., is led by British entrepreneurs Joel Cadbury and Ollie Vigors.
Longshot has developed a wide range of property and leisure businesses across the UK. These included Vingt-Quatre, London’s first and only 24-hour restaurant; The Groucho Club, an iconic private members club for the media and entertainment business; and The Third Space, a health & fitness club housing an organic supermarket and café and London’s largest integrated medical center. Longshot currently owns Longshot Country Inns, a small group of high quality country restaurants, known as Bel & The Dragon and The Cherkley Court Estate, a 400 acre Estate, where it has applied for planning consent to build a Hotel, Health Club, Spa and Private Members Golf Course.
Mr. Cadbury is also Chairman of The Royal Parks Foundation, the charitable organization that helps support 5,000 acres of London’s eight royal parks. The charity funds and manages a wide variety of projects, ranging from education and wildlife conservation, to community sport and art.
KidZania CEO, Xavier Lopez, and Cadbury signed the license agreement at the end of December. “London is a flagship European market for KidZania, and we have a brilliant and creative partner in Longshot,” said Xavier Lopez.
Cadbury followed by commentiong, “It is a privilege to bring this unique educational and entertainment experience to the children of Great Britain.”
With a total population of over 62 million including more than 10 million children, the UK is also a very popular tourist destination and a perfect market for KidZania. The London metro area houses more than 14 million people, making it the largest urban zone in the European Union. Great Britain is also heavily focused on providing high-quality educational opportunities for its children, which cleary aligns perfectly with KidZania’s purpose.
The first location for KidZania London will be announced soon, with plans to open in 2014.
The United Kingdom becomes the 19th State of the KidZania Nation.
