Loyalist Group, owner of a number of ESL schools in Canada, announced last week that it has changed its name to KGIC Inc., soon after announcing the closure of three of its school campuses.
The renaming, which came into effect from October 1, is based on a brand of private English language schools owned by the company, King George International College.
“The name change from Loyalist Group to KGIC is intended to better reflect what the company is all about,” CEO of KGIC Inc., Shawn Klerer, told The PIE News.
“KGIC was chosen because it is the largest brand in our stable of schools”
“KGIC was chosen because it is the largest brand in our stable of schools and the most well-known in the market place.”
He added: “Given the strength of KGIC, the adoption of that name only made sense to us.”
Just last month, the company announced the closure of three school campuses as part of the company’s ‘Optimization Plan’, designed to “return the business to profitability”.
The KGIC campus in Halifax was one of the schools shut down, alongside Cornerstone Academic College in Vancouver and the Victoria campus of PGIC.
Klerer had said these “campuses were strategically selected taking into account geography, efficiency and duplication with other Loyalist schools”.
However, according to Klerer, “nothing is set in stone” with regards to further changes.
“Right now, we like the path the business is proceeding on,” he said.
Loyalist Group acquired KGIC in September 2013. The school now has seven school campuses across Canada and three in Mexico.
Following the name change, KGIC Inc. will now trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the new symbol, LRN instead of LOY.
