Language provider LSI Education has acquired in-home language tuition operator HLI for an undisclosed fee.
Since its establishment in 1979, HLI has taught more than 100,000 students and built a network of over 2,000 teacher homestays in 20 languages in 30 different countries. HLI will continue to operate under the same name with the same network of families.
“We’ve admired teacher home tuition for a long time,” said LSI group director Roy Immanuel. “It’s a great program and it fits alongside our other language immersion programs very well.”
As a result of “tremendous financial pressure” stemming from Covid, HLI looked to LSI as a partner that can “provide financial stability as well as help grow our network of clients”, Ian Josephs Jr, HLI marketing director and marketing manager for Belgium/Monaco/France explained.
“Our current markets are similar but HLI has had a greater focus on Europeans”
“We’ve known LSI for a long time and we thought they would be a good fit,” he said.
Josephs Jr will join HLI as a partner, “in a completely new venture based in London which will continue to offer the well known, high quality programs of language courses in the teachers homes throughout the world”, he added.
The new HLI head office is based in London, and the partners will also expand the operating team with more marketing representatives in different countries.
The company will also ensure all HLI course fees will be ring-fenced until the courses have been completed “so that HLI clients & students know that their programs are safe post-covid”, Immanuel continued.
“HLI has had great programs and we’re going to continue to maintain their high standards.”
Pre-covid HLI hosted 4,000 students per year, and LSI hopes to combine forces and Educational Tour Operator networks to “expand HLI student numbers as well as LSI numbers as the industry recovers”.
“Our current markets are similar but HLI has had a greater focus on Europeans, particularly French and Swiss. LSI has traditionally been stronger in South America and the Middle East so we believe that by pooling our markets we will come out of Covid as stronger organisations,” Immanuel added.
“Our partnership will enable us to offer even more experienced professionals at the service of our students, ETOs’, local organisers, teachers and host families,” Josephs Jr concluded.
LSI operates 14 year-round schools in seven countries, as well as its international high school and Avenue House preparatory school in London.
