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Kids Planet
Education • North West • Growth
Company
information
Total BGF investment
£23m
Investment date
August 2016
“Kids Planet is unrecognisable from where we were pre-investment. We’ve scaled significantly, launched our own training academy, and acquired key competitors–all of which has allowed us to take the business to the next level.”
Founder & CEO of Kids Planet
BGF & Kids Planet
In 2016, we invested £10m into Cheshire-based nursery business Kids Planet. This initial investment provided Kids Planet with the funds required to roll-out its nurseries across the North of England. We later made a series of follow-on investments, in excess of £40m, to fund further expansion across the country.
We also introduced the team to Mark McMenemy. With experience in similar site roll-outs for Mothercare, Monsoon and WHSmith, Mark was well placed to support Kids Planet and joined its board as Non-Executive Chair.
Within five years of BGF’s investment, Kids Planet had successfully grown from 17 to 84 locations. The company had also strengthened its management team with the appointment of a finance director, secured additional funding from Barclays and Clydesdale, and increased its EBITDA from £3.5m to £14.5m.
In 2021, Kids Planet was acquired by mid-market investment firm Fremman Capital—delivering a 3x return on our initial investment. We continue to back the company as a minority shareholder.
