Call The Tune

Brothers Lawrence and Julius Holmefjord-Sarabi, co-founders of Aureus Academy, are taking the music education business to the next level

- Zara Zhuang

In a deal announced this January, Aureus Group, the parent company of Aureus Academy, acquires Ossia Music School for a seven-figure sum. This represents a significant move for the homegrown network of music schools, co-founded in 2013 by brothers Lawrence and Julius Holmefjord-Sarabi, and brings their total number of locations to 18 and total enrolment to 8,000.

But the pair are already making efforts to take the business even further. In addition to the Ossia acquisition, there are plans to integrate a dance program at Aureus schools — even though dance hadn’t been part of the schools’ offerings from the beginning, “it was always in the back of our minds,” says Lawrence, the older of the two. “We’ve also looked at purchasing another ballet company, and after doing the math, it just made more sense to do it ourselves.”

Another development on the cards is the establishment of Aureus Conservatory, to create what Lawrence refers to as “teachers of the future” with a professional training program and a diploma program, and ultimately a degree program. And the group is looking to go international within the year, with Hong Kong and the Emirates as the markets it’s keen to make inroads into.

“The thing (Julius and I) agree on is that we have to have development,” Lawrence says about expanding the group. “I look at the path ahead, and I’m even more restless because I feel there’s so much more to do. It’s like crossing that first hill and seeing Everest ahead.

“If we don’t act quickly and grow the business into the best business possible in the shortest amount of time, then we’ve failed.”

Why did you decide to acquire an existing music school network instead of growing Aureus branch by branch?