France/Croatia: Aquapark Istralandia Taken over by Looping Group

France’s Looping Group has announced that it takes over the Croatian Aquapark Istralandia, which since its inception in 2014 was run by the park’s founding family Kovačić and, according to official information, has been welcoming over 180,000 guests annually. The water park near Novigrad, which covers an area of over 8.2 hectares and thus counts as one of the largest in the country, has six pools with a total of 17 slides, all of which come from the Turkish manufacturer Polin (most recently, the “Space Combo” attraction expanded the range of experiences, see EAP 6/19).

Paolo and Mauro Kovačić will retain their roles as Managing Directors of Istralandia also within the new management structures resulting from the takeover. The destination in the eponymous region of Istria is now the 17th facility in the portfolio of Looping Group, which expects more than 5.7 million visitors annually in total at its facilities as a result of the acquisition. The company operates another water park with the Portuguese Parque Aquático, and amusement parks such as the German FortFun Abenteuerland and the British Drayton Manor, several zoos and visitor aquariums are also among the destinations operated by Looping.  

Laurent Bruloy, CEO and co-founder of Looping Group, comments: “I would like to congratulate the Kovačić family who has been developing the park and made it one of the most beautiful examples of the aquatic park industry in Southern Europe. We are deeply respectful about all that has been achieved by the teams. I would also like to thank Mubadala Capital and Bpifrance, as well as our debt providers, Hayfin and BOI, for their support and the trust they have demonstrated in recent years,” he says.

Stéphane Da Cunha, Managing Director and also co-founder of Looping Group, adds: “We are delighted to bring on board a talented management team which, will enable this aquatic park to become an increasingly attractive family destination and a new flagship site within Looping in South Europe.” (eap)