Barracudas
Barracudas operates Ofsted-registered school holiday activity day camps for children aged 4-14 across 40+ UK locations under the Young World Leisure Group, delivering 80+ activities per camp and serving working parents via direct-to-consumer bookings and corporate benefit packages.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersHuntingdon, United Kingdom
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Barracudas does
Barracudas Activity Day Camps is a UK-based school holiday childcare operator trading under Young World Leisure Group (company registration 2764956, founded 1995). The company runs Ofsted-registered activity day camps for children aged 4-14 across 40+ locations in southeast, east, and southwest England, with seasonal sessions aligned to UK Easter, summer, and half-term school breaks. Its core offering includes 80+ activities delivered across six daily sessions, supplemented by specialist programmes: Early & Late Clubs (8am-6pm extended hours), BX+ (12-14 year olds with staff shadowing), Skills Builder Courses (Dance Fusion, Discovery Squad, Motor Mania, Swim School), partner-led football development camps with Norwich City FC, West Ham United Foundation, and Palace for Life Foundation, plus gaming-themed Minecraft and Roblox camps and Coding courses.
The technology stack consists of a web-based booking platform, an iOS and Android parent mobile app with QR-code contactless registration, an internal online training portal (training.barracudas.co.uk), and a recruitment portal (recruitment.barracudas.co.uk). Operational integrations include Stripe for payment processing and HubSpot for CRM and email marketing; Microsoft Teams supports video interviews. No proprietary AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.
The business model is direct-to-consumer and pay-as-you-go, with parents purchasing individual days or full weeks, multi-week loyalty discounts, and flash-sale promotions (e.g., SUMMERFUN26). A secondary B2B revenue stream comes from corporate employee benefits packages sold to employers as subscription-style arrangements. The seasonal workforce reached 646+ staff during Easter 2026, with over 75% returning seasonally and over 70% qualified teaching professionals or specialist instructors.
Barracudas firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Barracudas
- Legal name
- Young World Leisure Group
- Website
- https://barracudas.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Barracudas operates Ofsted-registered school holiday activity day camps for children aged 4-14 across 40+ UK locations under the Young World Leisure Group, delivering 80+ activities per camp and serving working parents via direct-to-consumer bookings and corporate benefit packages.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Barracudas industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Children's Activity Day Camps
- NAICS
- Recreational and Vacation Camps (except Campgrounds) (721214), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)
- SIC
- Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Multi-Activity Enrichment Camps (Academic + Arts + Sports) (EDAMALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Coding, Game Design & Computer Science Camps (EDAMALAD), STEM & Science Camps (Biology, Chemistry, Space, Lab Science) (EDAMALAC), Youth Multi-Sport Camps (General Athletics, Summer Camps) (MPAKAJAA)
Keywords
Where Barracudas is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Huntingdon
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Barracudas business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Day Camp Bookings: Parents purchase individual days or full weeks of activity camp for children aged 4-14. Standard camp hours are 8:30am-9:30am drop-off and 4:30-5:30pm collection. Early & Late Clubs available from 8am-6pm as add-on.
- Extended Hours (Early & Late Clubs): Optional add-on for extended childcare hours from 8am-6pm, providing additional childcare coverage for working parents
- Specialist Courses: Additional paid courses including Swim School, Skills Builder Courses (Dance Fusion, Discovery Squad, Motor Mania), Minecraft camps, Roblox camps, Coding camps, and football development camps with partner organizations
- Corporate Employee Benefits: Corporate childcare benefit packages offered to employers for their employees' children
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Full Week Camp |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual Day Camp |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Early & Late Clubs (Extended Hours) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Multi-Week Loyalty Discount |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels11 records
Barracudas product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Barracudas operates school holiday activity day camps for children aged 4–14 across 40+ UK locations during Easter, summer, half-term, and other school breaks. Each camp delivers 80+ activities across six daily sessions, with standard drop-off 8:30–9:30am and collection 4:30–5:30pm, plus optional Early & Late Clubs extending coverage to 8am–6pm. Bookings are made by parents directly through the website or mobile app, with additional specialist add-on courses in coding, gaming, swimming, dance, motorsports, fencing, and football development delivered with partner organisations.
Product overview
Barracudas operates as a unified activity day camp platform providing school holiday childcare for children aged 4-14 across 40+ UK locations. The core product is Holiday Activity Camps offering over 80 activities, supplemented by Extended Hours (Early & Late Clubs), specialist programmes for teenagers (BX+), Skills Builder Courses (Dance Fusion, Discovery Squad, Motor Mania, Swim School), themed camps (Football, Minecraft, Roblox, Coding), and Theme Days. Supporting technology platforms include a Parent App for bookings/registration and an Online Training Platform for staff development. The company also operates specialized Recruitment and Training portals for managing seasonal workforce.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Holiday Activity Day Camps School holiday childcare and activity camps for children aged 4-14 running during Easter, summer, half-term and other school breaks across 40+ UK locations. Each day features 80+ activities across six sessions, with standard drop-off 8:30-9:30am and collection 4:30-5:30pm.
- Early & Late Clubs Extended childcare hours from 8am to 6pm, available as an add-on to standard camp bookings, providing additional supervision before and after regular sessions for working parents.
- BX+ Programme (12-14 years) Specialist programme aimed at 12-14 year olds combining activity fun with daily staff shadowing opportunities.
- Skills Builder Courses Specialised skill-development courses including Dance Fusion, Discovery Squad, Motor Mania, and Swim School, offered as add-ons at camp.
- Football Development Camps Partnership football camps with Norwich City FC, West Ham United Foundation and Palace for Life Foundation offering professional football coaching for children across multiple UK locations.
- Coding Camps Technology-focused camps teaching coding skills to children at selected Barracudas locations.
- Theme Days Special themed activity days at camp featuring costume themes and special programming in place of the standard activity rotation.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 75% staff return rate year on year
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Barracudas
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Barracudas technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature4 records
Barracudas partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Children with Cancer UKcoreBarracudas' chosen charity partner for 2026. Children with Cancer UK is the leading childhood cancer charity in the UK, working to improve survival rates and support families affected by childhood cancer. Over 36 years, they have raised over £300 million and funded over 300 research projects.
- Norwich City Football ClubminorNorwich City Football Development Camps operate at multiple locations including Bedford, Cambridge, Chelmsford, and Huntingdon, providing professional football coaching for children.
- West Ham United FoundationminorOfficial West Ham United Foundation camps operate at Chelmsford, Romford, and Upminster locations.
- Palace for Life FoundationminorPalace for Life Foundation football camps operate at Croydon and Streatham & Clapham locations.
- British FencingcoreBarracudas Fencing+ instructor program is led in partnership with British Fencing. Instructors complete a British Fencing affiliated coaching qualification valid for 3 years.
- OfstedcoreBarracudas is fully Ofsted registered and regularly inspected to ensure compliance with highest standards of care, safety, and activity provision.
- PGL TravelminorPGL provides residential camp experiences at Bawdsey Manor and Marchants Hill for multi-night stays (4-night and 7-night options).
- Microsoft TeamscoreUsed for video interviews during recruitment process and for ID verification checks.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Barracudas competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- PGL Travel: UK operator of residential adventure holidays and activity camps for school groups and families. Already partners with Barracudas for multi-night residential stays, indicating direct overlap in the school-holiday activity market.
- Kingswood Camps: Large UK residential and day camp operator offering activity programmes for children and young people. Comparable to Barracudas on activity range and target demographic, but with significant residential and educational-tour exposure that broadens the business mix.
Direct peers
- Camp Beaumont: One of the UK's largest activity day camp operators, offering multi-activity day camps for children aged 3-14 across school holidays. Directly comparable to Barracudas in product, age range, geographic spread, and target parent segment.
- Energy Kidz: UK provider of Ofsted-registered wraparound childcare, holiday clubs, and activity camps for primary-aged children. Overlaps with Barracudas in school holiday day camps and direct-to-parent B2C model.
- KOOSA Kids: Ofsted-registered activity day camps and after-school clubs for children aged 4-13 across southern England. Highly comparable to Barracudas in regulatory model, age band, and parent-facing booking proposition.
- Super Camps: UK provider of multi-activity and specialist holiday day camps (including coding, sports, and performing arts) for primary-aged children. Competes head-to-head with Barracudas on activity variety, age band, and Ofsted registration.
- Ultimate Activity Camps: Multi-activity school holiday day camp operator serving children aged 4-14 across the UK. Closely comparable in service offering, age range, and school-holiday model to Barracudas.
- Activate Camps: UK multi-activity day camps and specialist sport-themed camps (football, tennis, cricket) for school-age children. Directly comparable in age band, parent GTM, and partnership-driven specialist course model used by Barracudas.
- Jigsaw Performing Arts: UK provider of performing arts holiday workshops and specialist activity programmes for children. Comparable to Barracudas' Skills Builder and specialist course offerings (e.g., Dance Fusion) for the same parent segment.
Regional players
- Funtasia Holiday Clubs: Regional UK provider of Ofsted-registered school holiday day clubs. Comparable service offering and parent segment, but smaller scale and more regionally concentrated than Barracudas' national footprint.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Barracudas social profiles
Digital presenceBarracudas compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Barracudas financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Barracudas leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Barracudas funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Barracudas M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Barracudas
What does Barracudas do?
Barracudas operates school holiday activity day camps for children aged 4–14 across 40+ UK locations during Easter, summer, half-term, and other school breaks. Each camp delivers 80+ activities across six daily sessions, with standard drop-off 8:30–9:30am and collection 4:30–5:30pm, plus optional Early & Late Clubs extending coverage to 8am–6pm. Bookings are made by parents directly through the website or mobile app, with additional specialist add-on courses in coding, gaming, swimming, dance, motorsports, fencing, and football development delivered with partner organisations.
Is Barracudas a public or private company?
Barracudas is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Barracudas founded?
Barracudas was founded in 1995. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Barracudas based?
Barracudas is headquartered in Huntingdon, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Barracudas make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Day Camp Bookings are the primary driver. The others are extended Hours (Early & Late Clubs), specialist Courses and corporate Employee Benefits.
Who are Barracudas's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are PGL Travel and Kingswood Camps. Direct peers are Camp Beaumont, Energy Kidz, KOOSA Kids, Super Camps, Ultimate Activity Camps, Activate Camps and Jigsaw Performing Arts. Funtasia Holiday Clubs is listed as a regional player.
Does Barracudas have an API?
No public API is recorded for Barracudas.
What industry is Barracudas in?
Barracudas's product category is Children's Activity Day Camps. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMALAA, Multi-Activity Enrichment Camps (Academic + Arts + Sports), with a secondary code of EDAMALAD, Coding, Game Design & Computer Science Camps. Its NAICS code is 721214 and its SIC code is 8351.