Lo-Q plc is an AIM (Alternative Investment Market - London Stock Exchange) listed company with active subsidiary companies in USA and Canada. Lo-Q design, install and operate systems which allow members of the public to make ride and show reservations when they visit a theme park or other attraction. Their new flagship product, VQ²º²º is a true virtual queuing system for theme parks. Lo-Q's proprietary hand-held units, called Q-bots, are used in major theme parks around the world.
31/01/12
Contract Update19/01/12
Notification of Results Date18/01/12
Contract Win17/01/12
Holding(s) in Company17/01/12
Holding(s) in Company
05/12/11
Shares in Lo-Q were up over 5 per cent in mid-morning trade after the provider of virtual queuing systems for theme parks unveiled a collaboration agreement with MasterCard. As at 11.15am, the shares were trading 9.5 pence higher at 196 pence.
22/03/11
Within the last year, the share price has risen 35 percent amid increasing revenues and profits. The company, which develops and sells queuing systems for theme parks, has also benefited from positive sentiment after the appointment in October 2010 of Tom Burnet as its new CEO. Here we take a look at what's in store for Lo-Q going forward.
16/02/11
Lo-Q, the maker of virtual queuing systems for theme parks and attractions, said today it is gearing up for an expansion drive. Chief executive Tom Burnet believes targeted acquisitions in the theme, amusement and water park sectors provide “great potential” to grow the company’s global footprint.
19/04/10
The company's handheld units that park visitors can use to join a virtual queue cut the time that they spend standing about doing nothing in their precious time.
19/02/10
The company, which designs, installs and operates systems that allow theme park visitors to make ride and show reservations, said revenues jumped 27.9% to £17.3 million
03/02/12
Lo-Q: Recent deal flow should support growth of virtual queuing innovator - Edison31/01/12
Lo-Q to install Q-band system in ninth Six Flags water park18/01/12
Lo-Q makes splash with new water park deal in Long Island, NY12/01/12
Lo-Q wins further contract at Merlin Entertainments site05/12/11
Lo-Q teams with MasterCard to develop new theme park payment device
23/03/2011
03/03/2011
11/05/2010
25/06/2009
The dynamic virtual queuing concept arose because of a wait in a line by Leonard Sim and his family in a Florida theme park in the 90's. The ride had mechanical problems, which meant that the almost 2 hour wait was only a waste of time.
Lo-Q plc, formerly The Tellurian Devices Company Limited, was formed in August 2000. It completed an IPO that Autumn to fund the first large scale Lo-Q installation in its first park. Completion of a second round of funding enabled a further five parks to be installed in 2002.
Lo-Q plc is directed by an experienced board supported by a strong management team and dedicated staff. Our headquarters and development labs are in the Smith Centre high technology campus near Henley-on-Thames UK where we employ a team of highly skilled engineers carrying out our hardware, software and systems design. We have our USA headquarters in Lithia Springs, Georgia, where support, financial and installation staff are based.
Lo-Q has extensive patents or patents pending in Europe, USA, Hong Kong and Japan. We are investigating other markets for our technology.
The Lo-Q Guests Services System was developed and prototyped at Thorpe Park, near London, UK, from 1998, where we attracted huge amounts of media interest.
The first installation went live in March 2001 in the Six Flags Over Georgia park near Atlanta. In the summer of 2002, the company added 5 further parks, one of which was subsequently sold by Six Flags. The popularity of our system grew in these parks as the guests became more used to the benefits of the Q-bot.
In 2006, the company announced an updated system - VQ²º²º - which operated in two further Six Flags parks as well as in Dollywood, for the 2007 season. Dollywood is located in Tennessee near the home town of Dolly Parton.
Our first European park, LEGOLAND® Windsor, went live in March 2008.
In 2007 we purchased the Text-Q product which allows mobile phone users to reserve their place in line. Users pay a fee, using the premium rate SMS services, to avoid standing in a queue-line so the attraction generates additional revenue. Q-txt is in use in a number of locations in Europe.
In August 2008 we passed our 3 millionth user of the Lo-Q system and feel we have created a product which has very significantly altered the future of queuing in theme parks.
Parks continually strive for growth in their business while maintaining high guest satisfaction. Achieving higher per cap revenue is key to the growth of your business especially if your market is experiencing static park attendance. We have proven that a major increase of in-park spend can be achieved by implementing our solutions.
We see queuing every day, whether it is a queue of traffic, a queue at a supermarket checkout or a queue at the airport. Queues make people dissatisfied and unhappy so everyday solutions have been employed to reduce queuing - road management structures are implemented, more checkouts are opened and airports introduce Fast Track systems.
Theme parks have seen limited success in overcoming queuing as many of the "everyday" solutions are very limited in how they can address the problem. Why can't there be solutions that can be flexible enough to cope with real life theme park problems, inexpensive and simple enough for the smallest venue or powerful enough to meet the future requirement of no lines for anyone?
Well of course there can ...
Lo-Q has enabled millions of guests to avoid standing in line, without line hopping, secure in the knowledge that the system would take care of any ride downtime or closure.
Lo-Q introduced the hugely successful "GSS" system in 2001 into our first Six Flags park in the USA.
Now Lo-Q's product has moved on and our range broadened.
2007 saw the first season of operation of our revolutionary VQ²º²º virtual queuing system in three USA parks. Guests use our attractive hand-held units "Q-bots" to reserve places in ride lines or shows. The Q-bot displays all the ride wait times and its buttons make it simple to select and reserve a place in line.
Also in 2007 we expanded our range to include Q-txt. This is a mobile phone based reservation system ideal for single attraction venues or venues with one or two queue lines.
Park visitors can rent our small hand-held units to reserve their rides. Our flexible system provides true virtual queuing and any number of levels of wait discount services.
True virtual queuing means that our computer schedules ride times or shows in such a way that the guest using the Q-bot waits the same time as other guests. The guest benefits by no longer having to stand in line and is therefore free to enjoy other attractions, visit a retail outlet or restaurant or just relax. Because ALL guests wait the same amount of time for their rides, the presence of a standard Lo-Q system does not noticeably impact the queue dynamics.
Guests pay charges for Q-bots to avoid the physical queues so while they are waiting for rides they will be enjoying the park and are more likely to be spending money in the gift shops, restaurants or on arcade games. There will be other advantages for park owners including a happier customer - which means returning customers - and increasing guest loyalty.
When guests make a reservation using their Q-bot, the system registers that person or group into a virtual queue. Guests are informed via the Q-bot display with a beep and vibrate when their ride is ready. In addition, the Lo-Q system can inform users of ride breakdowns and allow re-scheduling of reservations.
To see a virtual demonstration of how the Q-bot works please CLICK HERE
Q-txt is a mobile phone based reservation system for venues with one or two queue lines. The guest uses his mobile phone to communicate with our reservation computer. This system can be used for entry / admission queues as well as ride queues.
Q-txt is versatile and adaptable for a number of queuing scenarios, however, because the guest in the park has to pay for SMS messages, the system is only economic in the environment that has only a few queue lines.
Users can book their place in line by sending a simple text. The Q-txt computer allocates a place in line for the user who therefore can do something more enjoyable with his precious time whilst he is waiting. The guest will receive a message back to their phone with details of their reservation time and a unique code, which they can use to gain entry to the attraction/ride.
Q-txt’s deployment requires little capital investment from the venue, but requires a good signal throughout the venue for all mobile phone service providers.
To see how to use Q-txt please CLICK HERE
Where you can find the Q-bot & Q-txt in use
Recognising the unique set of challenges associated with virtual queuing in water parks and the need for cashless payments,
Lo-Q introduces Q-credits, a revolutionary new virtual queuing system that is lightweight, cashless and waterproof.
Lo-Q's innovative Q-credits wristband clocks up credits and displays them clearly on the wristband. Guests compare this with the number of credits required for each ride, then choose the ride to enjoy without waiting in a long queue line.
With the Q-credits cashless function, cashless purchasing becomes compelling as guests can see their e-cash balance on their wrist. Guests no longer have to carry cash around.
The rfid functionality can be used for controlled access to the park and access to on-site lockers.
John Lillywhite, Acting Chairman
Tom Burnet, Chief Executive Officer
Anthony Bone, Non-Executive Director
David Gammon, Non-Executive Director
Leonard Sim, Founding Director
Steve Drake, Chief Operating Officer
Colin Robertson, Sales Director
Paul Cassar, Commercial Director
Rob Rodgers, Director of North American Park Operations - Lo-Q Inc
John Alder, Finance Director
Chris Bayne, Director of Development
Nominated advisor and broker
Canaccord Genuity Ltd
7th Floor, Cardinal Place
80 Victoria Street
London, SW1E 5JL
Tel: 020 7050 6500
Financial Public Relations
Walbrook PR Ltd
4 Lombard Street
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Tel: 020 7933 8780
Registrar
SLC Registrars Limited
United Kingdom
Lo-Q plc
Unit 2, The Pavilions, Ruscombe Park
Twyford, Berks, RG10 9NN, England.
T: +44 (0) 118 934 7400
F: +44 (0) 118 934 7410
United States of America
Lo-Q Inc
351 Thornton Road, Suite 119,
Lithia Springs, GA 30122, USA.
T: +1 678-838-6930
F: +1 678-838-6932
Shares in Issue - 16,232,667
of which 36.62% are not in public hands
(Updated 8th March 2011)
| Major shareholders and directors shareholding (as of 14th February 2011) |
Number of Ordinary Shares
|
% Issued Share Capital
|
|
| Mr Leonard Sim | Director |
4,343,575
|
26.76%
|
| Mr Antony Bone | Director |
381,517
|
2.35%
|
| Mr John Lillywhite | Director |
145,500
|
0.89%
|
| Mr John Alder | Director |
6,612
|
0.04%
|
| L R Nominees Ltd |
1,318,376
|
8.12%
|
|
| HSDL Nominees Ltd |
1,121,458
|
6.91%
|
|
| Mr Jeffrey Robert McManus |
1,054,172
|
5.17%
|
|
| BNY (OCS) Nominees Ltd |
748,500
|
4.61%
|
|
| Barclayshare Nominees Ltd |
748,195
|
4.61%
|
|
| TD Waterhouse Nominees (Europe) Ltd |
692,999
|
4.27%
|
|
| Mr Ian K Johnson |
555,000
|
3.42%
|
|
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