CALGARY, June 9, 2011 /CNW/ -- CALGARY, June 9, 2011 /CNW/ - Edleun Group, Inc. (TSX-V:EDU) ("Edleun" or the "Company"), a leading Canadian operator, consolidator and developer of child care facilities, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of First Capital Realty Inc. ("First Capital") that will enable the construction of the McKenzie Towne Learning Centre in South Calgary. The 23,550 square foot, early learning and care facility is targeted to open in early 2012 and will create 247 new licensed child care spaces and provide employment to 33 early childhood educators. To date, the Company has received expressions of interest from families in the community, who have placed their names on a pre-enrolment list for approximately 201 licensed spaces, or 81% of the centre's proposed licensed capacity. "We continue to expand our commitment to creating new licensed spaces by positioning purpose-built, state of the art centres at the very heart of underserved communities where we see considerable demand for services before we even break ground," said Mr. Leslie Wulf, Chief Executive Officer of Edleun. "This level of pre-construction interest, despite a limited marketing initiative, is very encouraging and clearly demonstrates how desperately the additional early learning and child care capacity is needed. At certain age group levels, the number of names on the wait list already exceeds the number of planned spaces. This new centre provides a convenient, high quality childcare option to parents looking for early learning and child care for their children in close proximity to other key services and their homes." The McKenzie Towne Learning Centre is situated adjacent to the McKenzie Towne Centre, a major shopping centre owned, developed and operated by First Capital that is anchored by a supermarket, drug store and financial institutions. The custom-designed, free standing child care facility will be located on a 0.80 acre parcel of land leased on a long term basis (up to 50 years including renewal options) offering self-contained parking and a large age-specific outdoor playground area. The centre will offer programs to families for children ranging from six weeks to 12 years of age and will include preschool, kindergarten, before and after school care, tutoring and summer camps, all in a safe and secure environment that includes multi-use indoor gym space. The McKenzie Towne Learning Centre will offer an age-specific, developmentally appropriate curriculum, fully trained staff that participate in continuous learning and professional development, and nutritionally certified food menus. This facility also substantially exceeds the regulatory requirement for physical space per child in classrooms by 25%, and is designed to provide large volumes of natural light into all classrooms and common spaces creating a warm, secure and stimulating environment conducive to care and learning for children. This modern and efficient new facility will serve as a further template for Edleun's planned development of other new child care centres of varying sizes and configurations designed to suit individual communities and a range of different land sites. "First Capital is focused on providing consumers with the necessities for every day life from groceries and prescription drugs to financial and personal care products and services," said Mr. Terry Evans, Managing Director Leasing - Western Canada for First Capital.  "Child care is another service that many families living in the neighbourhoods we operate in rely on every day. We intend to work with Edleun on further opportunities to locate this valuable service in the heart of growing communities across the country." McKenzie Towne is a community located in South Calgary that saw its population grow by more than 68% between 2005 and 2009. According to the City of Calgary Civic Census, more than 14,000 people lived in the community in 2009 with 21.6% of the population aged under 14 years. There are presently no licensed childcare facilities in the McKenzie Towne community. This new development will add 247 licensed child care spaces to the Company's portfolio, bringing the total number of licensed spaces, including centres owned and transactions previously announced to acquire or build new centres, to 3,336 spaces across 33 centres. The Company will fund the completion of this project utilizing its currently available financial resources. About Edleun Group, Inc. Edleun is the leading provider of high-quality, educational child care in Canada.  The Company is committed to providing children, families and employers with access to, and choice of, quality early childhood education programs, helping Canadians balance their work and family lives. The Company's objectives include the acquisition and improvement of existing child care centres and development of new child care centres across Canada.  Edleun is also pursuing the development of new "state of the art" child care centres in a number of Calgary and Edmonton residential communities which are currently underserved. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain statements in this Release which are not historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Any statements related to Edleun's projected revenues, earnings, growth rates, revenue mix, staffing and resources, and product plans are forward looking statements as are any statements relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. The use of terms such as "believes", "anticipated", "expected", "projected", "targeting", "estimate", "intend" and similar terms are intended to assist in identification of these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not promises or guarantees of future performance and involve both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance, achievements or developments of Edleun to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions. Except as required by law, Edleun does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. The Company undertakes no obligation, except as required by law, to update publicly or otherwise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, or the above list of factors affecting this information. Many factors could cause the actual results of Edleun to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2011/09/c4552.html p Leslie Wulf, Chief Executive Officer or Dale Kearns, Chief Financial Officer, of Edleun Group, Inc. at (403) 705-0362, or Nick Hurst of the Equicom Group, Inc. at (403) 218-2835. /p

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