Contract

RNS Number : 4916O

Lo-Q PLC

09 March 2009

 



9 March 2009

Lo-Q plc 

('Lo-Q' or the 'Company')

New contract with Italian theme park

Lo-Q plc, the AIM listed provider of virtual queuing systems for theme parks and major attractions, announces it has signed an agreement to install its VQ2020 queue management system at the Mirabilandia theme park in Ravenna, Italy. This is Lo-Q's second VQ2020 European theme park installation following on from the Legoland Windsor contract signed in February last year.

Mirabilandia, Ravenna is owned by Spanish leisure park operator Parques Reunidos, and in 2008 had 1.7m visitors. With 67 parks, Parques Reunidos is the second largest operator of leisure parks in Europe. Parques Reunidos operate theme parks, amusement parks, nature and animal parks and water parks across Europe, South America and the USA.

As part of the agreement Lo-Q plc will install and train Mirabilandia employees to use the VQ2020 queue management system. The installation will include an initial batch of 370 Q-bots, Lo-Q's proprietary hand-held units that allow park guests to reserve their place in any queue from anywhere in the park. The virtual queuing system means that all visitors wait the same time for a ride so the Q-bot system is fair to all and allows them to visit the restaurants and retail outlets until their ride is ready.

The one year agreement (extendable to a five year contract) also covers technical assistance and support as well as software updates and maintenance. Lo-Q will also provide further batches of Q-bots to meet augmented future customer demand. The installation is expected to be completed in April in time for the busy Easter period.

Jeff McManus, Chairman of Lo-Q, commented:

'We are very pleased to have signed this agreement with such a major leisure park operator as Parques Reunidos. This now brings the total number of parks using the VQ2020 system to 14 and adds another group to our portfolio of clients. It also means that our system is now being used by the two largest leisure park operators in Europe.

'We hope that through the successful deployment of our system in Italy, we will be able to demonstrate that our system has the potential to enhance a visitor's enjoyment of Mirabilandia and so can be used to good effect at other Parques Reunidos sites.'

Mr. Claudio Bertozzi, CEO of Mirabilandia commented:

'We are very proud to be the first Park in Italy, and one of the first ones in Europe, to offer our visitors an electronic reservation service to have access to rides without having to wait in the line. We are very pleased to have signed this agreement with a great company such as Lo-Q. I'm sure that thanks to their technology we will give new opportunities to our visitors and it will make their visit to our park more enjoyable'.

ENDS

Contacts:

Lo-Q plc	Jeff McManus, Chairman	Tel: [phone]
	Colin Robertson, Sales Director	Tel: [phone]
Arbuthnot Securities Limited	John Prior/Ed Burbidge	Tel: [phone]
Parkgreen Communications Ltd		Tel: [phone]
		Mob: [phone]
	Paul McManus	[e-mail]
	Ben Knowles	[e-mail]

About Lo-Q plc

Lo-Q plc listed on AIM in April 2002 and has active subsidiary companies in the USA and Canada.

Lo-Q designs, installs and operates systems which allow members of the public to make ride and show reservations when they visit a theme park or other attraction. Lo-Q's flagship product, VQ2020, 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. In August 2008 Lo-Q passed its 3 millionth user of the Lo-Q system.

The dynamic virtual queuing concept arose because of a wait in a line by Leonard Sim, the company founder and inventor of the Lo-Q System, and his family in a Florida theme park in the 90's. The ride had mechanical problems, which meant that the almost two hour wait was a waste of time.

Lo-Q's headquarters and development labs are in the Smith Centre high technology campus near Henley-on-Thames, UK, where a team of highly skilled engineers carry out hardware, software and systems design. The USA headquarters is in Lithia Springs, Georgia, near Atlanta where support, financial and installation staff are based.

The first installation went live in March 2001 and with Mirabilandia being installed on the 9th of April 2009, there will be a total of 14 sites across the world, namely: 

Six Flags Over Georgia, USA

Six Flags New England, USA

Six Flags Great Adventure, USA

Six Flags Over Texas, USA

Six Flags Fiesta Texas, USA

Six Flags St Louis, USA

Six Flags Great America, USA

Six Flags Magic Mountain, USA

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, USA

Six Flags La Ronde, Canada

Dollywood, USA

Dreamworld, Australia

Legoland Windsor, UK

Mirabilandia, Italy

In 2007 Lo-Q acquired the Text-Q product which allows mobile phone users to reserve their place in line. Users pay a fee and using the premium rate SMS services, avoid standing in a queue. The attraction generates additional revenue. Text-Q is available at the London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds in London.

 

END

 

 

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