• The story behind Leo's

    Our story

    It all started in 2006 with a simple vision – to create a meeting place where families can enjoy the joy of play and movement. It turned out to be the perfect formula, and today Leo’s playcenter is the largest playcenter chain in the Nordic countries, with almost 50 facilities and a clear view towards Europe.

    Leo´s 2006 – 2015

    The journey began in Sweden and continued for several years. In 2011, a Norwegian chain with five adventure parks was acquired and continued in the two countries until 2013, before Leo’s expanded to Denmark and opened its first playcenter in Aalborg. In December 2014, Leo’s entered into a strong partnership with Litorina to take the chain to the next level.

    Leo´s 2016 – today

    In addition to expanding in existing countries, Leo’s expanded into Finland and opened two playcenters in Tampere and Kempele. In 2017, Leo’s acquired the Andy’s playcenter chain, and in 2019, the first playcenter opened in Germany.

    Our timeline

    2006
    It all began in Luleå, Sweden. Founders Joakim Gunler and Jonas Rönnqvist wanted to create a place for families where play and movement take center stage.

    2007
    The second playcenter opens in Umeå, Sweden.

    2008
    Opening in Växjö.

    2009
    Opening in Skellefteå and Kalmar.

    2010
    Opening in Borås.

    2011
    The company takes over a Norwegian chain with five playcenters. Leo’s opens in Haugesund, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Tromsø and Trondheim.
    Openings in Malmö, Bærum (Oslo) and Fredrikstad.

    2012
    The company opens its stores in Bergen, Eskilstuna, Uppsala, Oslo (Ulsrud) and Västerås.

    2013
    Leo’s expands to Denmark and establishes the first playcenter in Aalborg.
    Expansion of the first playcenter in Luleå and opening in Linköping.

    2014
    The first playcenter in Stockholm (Arninge/Täby). Opening in Jönköping.
    In December 2014, Leo’s enters into a strong partnership with Litorina to enable further expansion.

    2015
    A new bistro concept is introduced – Bistro Leo’s.
    Three new playcenters are opened in Denmark – Odense, Aarhus and Copenhagen (Herlev). In Sweden, a playcenter is opened in Karlstad.

    2016
    Leo’s expands to Finland and opens two playcenters in Tampere and Kempele. Expansion also continues in Sweden with four new playcenters – Malmö (Stora Bernstorp), Sundsvall, Helsingborg and Borlänge.
    A completely new bistro menu is introduced.

    2017
    Leo’s takes over the Andy’s playcenter chain and renovates and renews the playcenters in Stockholm (Bromma and Barkarby). In addition, a playcenter is opened in Kungens Kurva, Stockholm. Stockholm now has four playcenters.
    Two playcenters in Sweden (Umeå and Uppsala) move to new locations.
    Expansion continues in Finland (Jyväskylä and Lahti) and Denmark (Ishøj, Copenhagen).

    2018
    The fifth playcenter opens in Finland (Pori). Three new locations are opened in Sweden in the first and second quarters – Halmstad, Partille (Gothenburg) and Länna (Stockholm).

    2019
    Four new Leo’s open, two in Finland (Turku and Espoo), one in Sweden (Kristianstad) and one in Germany (Bremen).
    Leo’s enters a new market with the opening of our first playcenter in Northern Germany in the city of Bremen. The opening is a great success – the best opening week in Leo’s history. Never before have we welcomed so many guests in one opening week.

    2020
    Leo’s reaches an important milestone by opening our 50th playcenter in Mölndal, Gothenburg (Sweden). We also reopened our playcenter in Borås (Sweden) at a new location.
    During the pandemic, we had to close for 100 days. We reopened with a new digital entrance system to cope with the restrictions during the pandemic.

    2021
    Leo’s continues expansion in Gothenburg (Sweden) and opens in Backaplan.

    2023
    Leo’s Group acquires the Finnish playcenter chain HopLop with 16 facilities. The group now has a total of 65 playcenters.