Interview - Wey Education looks to Africa and Asia for growth before AIM listing

Turnover at Wey Education rocketed over the last financial year as the company continued to progress on its strategic plan to roll-out what management claimed was a unique e-learning model.

The company, which was successfully taken over on 2 April 2015, announced that its turnover had rocketed 844% over the year ending 31 August 2015 and losses cut by 52% to 1.09p.

On 7 December, the company carried out a successful placing with the aim of raising £1.75m, mainly to beef up its IT platform.

In remarks made to Digital Look on the same day, company chairman David Massie emphasised that “cracking” into the Asian market would be key for the firm.

The chairman also said he was “extremely excited” about Asia.

Massie also pointed out how Wey had recently attracted some heavyweight investors, including private equity outfit Living Bridge and Miton Group, with each one now holding stakes of 29.8% and 20%, respectively.

The company's chairman stressed that Miton Group counted Gervais Williams, a well-known AIM-focused fund manager from the City, in its ranks.

Going forward, Massie recommended investors look for updates to the company’s figures for student enrolment as a guide to its growth.

The company’s margins would also tend to increase as time went on, unlike at many other businesses, he said.

Africa, where there were common cultural links with multiple countries, also offered good prospects for reaching business-to-business agreements with schools in those latitudes.

Asia loomed large in the company’s near-term plans, he concluded.

Wey Education was due to list on AIM on 11 December, simultaneously delisting from ISDX.