Wall Street English plans to expand services, learning centers

Wall Street English, a global English language training network for adults, plans to expand its product lines and open 40 new learning centers in the next four years in China as it moves into second- and third-tier cities, boosted by an affluent middle-income group.

In March, Pearson's sale of Wall Street English for $300 million to funds affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia and CITIC Capital Holdings Ltd was agreed.

WSE has more than 400 centers and 2 million students in 26 countries. The new shareholders said earlier that they will support WSE's expansion in existing growth markets including China and new markets globally through franchise expansion. David Kedwards, global CEO of Wall Street English, said the company will open 84 new centers in 19 regions worldwide in the next five years.