STADIO Holdings Limited (JSE:SDO) is an investment holding company that focuses on the investment in, growth and development of higher education institutions to assist in meeting the demand for quality and relevant higher education programmes in southern Africa.

STADIO Holdings creates value through the growth and development of its existing institutions, through new programme development in Contact, Distance and Blended modes of Learning and exploring geographic expansion through greenfield developments and expansion of existing campuses.

STADIO Holdings started as a subsidiary of Curro Holdings Limited (Curro). Curro has been a proud provider of pre-school and school-based education since 1998 and was listed on the JSE in 2011.

In 2013, Curro acquired Embury Institute for Higher Education Proprietary Limited (Embury), a registered private higher education institution, which offers accredited teacher-education qualifications. The acquisition of Embury was Curro’s first investment in the post-school education environment. In light of the opportunities presented in the post-school education market, it was a natural progression for Curro to develop and expand its post-school education offering, through STADIO Holdings.

On 28 February 2017 Curro announced its intention to unbundle its entire interest in STADIO Holdings and to list STADIO Holdings on the JSE. The intention of the unbundling and listing was to create a separate listed business, focusing on higher education, with a strong management team and a dedicated anchor shareholder (namely PSG Alpha Investments Proprietary Limited) in order to become a leader in the higher education market in South Africa.

To achieve this goal, STADIO Holdings successfully acquired various registered higher education institutions, namely Southern Business School Proprietary Limited (SBS), The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance Proprietary Limited (AFDA), MBS Education Investments (Pty) Ltd (Milpark), Lisof (Pty) Ltd (Lisof) and Prestige Academy (Pty) Ltd (Prestige Academy), and therefore, including Embury, owned six prestigious higher education institutions.

During 2020, STADIO Holdings achieved one of its main strategic goals and consolidated the various programmes offered by Embury, SBS, Lisof and Prestige Academy into a single comprehensive registered higher education institution, STADIO, allowing stakeholders to benefit from the marketing, operational and regulatory advantages of being ‘one’. Milpark and AFDA have retained their own brands, campuses and management teams, for the time being, but continue to share a common vision and ethos, as well as benefit from the synergies, infrastructure and shared services arising from the Group structure.

STADIO Holdings now owns three prestigious higher education institutions, STADIO, Milpark and AFDA, offering a diverse range of programmes including undergraduate (higher certificates, diplomas and degrees) and post-graduate programmes (honours and masters degrees and doctorate), aimed at providing graduates with a real chance of creating employment opportunities (entrepreneurship) or finding employment. As the investment holding company of the various education institutions, STADIO Holdings will monitor the business’ success and drive efficiencies, innovations and best practices across the Group.

STADIO Holdings was listed on the JSE main board on 3 October 2017.