learndirect completes follow-on investment in LEAP Academy

Queen’s Park Equity (“QPE”) is delighted to announce that learndirect has completed its fifth follow-on investment in LEAP Academy, a leading provider of accredited online qualifications in health and fitness.

Since opening its doors in January 2022, LEAP Academy has been adept at harnessing social media trends to drive growth for the company, working with high profile personal trainers and influencers. This follow-on investment comes after learndirect’s June acquisition of The Training Room brand which specialises in supporting its students to become industry-ready personal trainers.

LEAP courses will now be offered as part of a new health and fitness faculty alongside qualifications offered by The Training Room. Working with learndirect, LEAP will broaden its reach with fitness enthusiasts, from aspiring personal trainers and nutritionists, to those looking to improve their health and wellbeing with education.

learndirect is primed to capitalise on the year on year rise in demand for personal trainers in an industry estimated to be worth £631m in the UK alone. With this follow-on acquisition, QPE continues to provide capital and expertise to high-quality, entrepreneur-led businesses within the Education, Health & Pharma and Tech-enabled business services sectors.

Mitch Henchoz, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at LEAP Academy said: “We are very excited to be joining learndirect’s leading health and fitness faculty. learndirect are the market leaders in online education and their expertise will be invaluable for the next stage of LEAP’s growth. As part of the learndirect Digital Group we will have the resources to expand our course range and provide high-quality education to even more students.”

Wayne Janse van Rensburg, Group Chief Executive Officer at learndirect said: “We’re delighted to welcome LEAP Academy into the learndirect Digital Group, joining a fitness faculty that is designed to prepare health and fitness enthusiasts for success in a growing industry. They’re currently training over 1200 students in the UK, and now under learndirect’s umbrella, LEAP will expand their reach, connecting with people at varying stages of their health and fitness career journey. This latest acquisition signifies our continuous growth as we aim to cement ourselves as the go-to online brand for professional development.”

Jason Birt, QPE said: “We’re thrilled to be further supporting Wayne and the learndirect team with their fifth follow-on investment as they continue to develop their online training offering across multiple faculties. The investment in LEAP follows on from learndirect’s recent acquisition of The Training Room to create industry-leading, online, qualifications in personal training & nutrition.”