Photo by Lego Lego has just announced the opening of its new UK flagship store in Leicester Square on November 17 2016

Danish toymaker Lego has announced that it saw sales of DKK 15.69bn (€2.1bn) for the first half of 2016, an 11% increase on the same period of 2015 which saw sales of DKK 14.14bn (€1.9bn).

Lego says sales were driven by its established lines like Lego City and Lego Ninjago, as well as in the brand new theme Lego Nexo Knights. Sales growth was particularly strong in both Europe and Asia, says the company, but it reports flat growth in the Americas.

Lego Group President and CEO J?rgen Vig Knudstorp said: “It is our ambition to reach many more children all over the world with fun and creative Lego experiences and it is exciting for all of us to see that our products are loved and cherished by children globally. Maintaining double-digit growth year on year through more than a decade is a testament to the never ending possibilities that children find in Lego play, and the result of the hard work of more than 18,000 Lego colleagues around the world.”

Lego states that it is investing extensively in global expansion. A new factory in Jiaxing, China has begun manufacturing Lego and it will be under continued construction until 2017 and a significant expansion of the factory in Monterrey, Mexico, adding moulding, processing and warehousing capacity has started, and the new facility will potentially double the capacity in the future, says the company.

In Europe, Lego Group’s factory in Nyíregyháza, Hungary, has started groundwork for an expansion that may double the capacity that started during the first half of 2016, says Lego.

Meanwhile in London, Lego has just announced the opening of its new UK flagship store in Leicester Square on November 17 2016. The new store will be the biggest Lego retail store in the world, the 37th Lego store in Europe and cover a 914 square metre total area over two floors.