Fun Fest Franchising (UK) ltd

What Fun Fest Franchising (UK) ltd does

Fun Fest Franchising (UK) Ltd is a UK-based franchisor of Ofsted-registered children's holiday clubs, founded in 2009 by Sarah Charles in Solihull. The company licenses franchisees to operate school-venue holiday clubs during half-terms, Easter, and summer breaks, serving working parents of children aged 3-12 with a 'child-led activity choice' model where attendees build their own programme from a menu of sports, creative, and adventure sessions. The portfolio also includes after-school clubs and children's parties under the Fun Fest brand, and from 2021 a separate franchise brand, Canopy Children's Nurseries, providing year-round nursery provision using the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum with an Emilio Reggio approach. The franchisor's core deliverables are training, an operations manual, Ofsted licence sponsorship, ongoing mentoring, and a school-venue pipeline; franchisees collect end-parent fees directly.

The commercial model is dual: franchise fees (setup plus ongoing royalties) flowing to the franchisor, and end-parent service fees flowing to individual franchisees at £24 per half-day, £42 per full day, £190 per weekly block, or £39 per sibling per day, with childcare voucher and tax-free childcare accepted via integrations with Care-4, Computershare, Edenred, Kiddivouchers, and Sodexo. The revenue model is asset-light for the franchisor, sitting with 1-10 HQ employees overseeing a network that has grown from a single location to over 25 operating units across the Midlands, North, and South of England. The technology stack is a website-based booking system with Auth0 authentication supporting direct-to-consumer reservations and a store-locator driving local SEO acquisition; no AI/ML capabilities, proprietary models, or data flywheel mechanics are disclosed.

Distribution is multi-channel: SEO-optimised local pages capture 'holiday club near me' intent, social media and email newsletters drive mid-funnel engagement, parent referrals produce post-sale acquisition, and a B2B recruitment funnel targets both prospective franchisees and host schools. The franchisor is a British Franchise Association Associate Member and holds Elite Franchise Top 100 recognition (position 61, 2023) with a reported 123% year-on-year revenue growth, 82% franchisee satisfaction, and a Net Promoter Score of 63, though no absolute revenue figure is disclosed in the source materials.

Name

Fun Fest Franchising (UK) ltd

Legal name

Fun Fest Franchising (UK) Limited

Website

https://fun-fest.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fun Fest Franchising (UK) Ltd is a UK franchisor of Ofsted-registered children's holiday clubs, training and supporting franchisees who operate school-venue clubs during school holidays for working parents of children aged 3-12. The network spans 25+ clubs across England under the Fun Fest and Canopy Nurseries brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Holiday Club Franchising

NAICS

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399), Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Party Games, Activities & Interactive Entertainment (HSACACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Kids Party Entertainment (Clowns, Magicians, Characters) (HSACACAG), Event & Wedding Babysitting (Kids’ Corner/Group Sitting) (HSAAAAAE)

Keywords

• Children's holiday clubs
• Franchise childcare services
• Ofsted registered childcare
• After-school programs
• Children's party services

Headquarters

HQ city

Warwick

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Franchise Fees: Franchisees pay fees to operate Fun Fest clubs within defined geographic territories. Includes training, operations manual, Ofsted licence, and ongoing support.
2. Childcare Service Fees: Direct fees from parents for holiday childcare sessions. Parents pay for half-day (£24), full-day (£42), or weekly block bookings (£190). Sibling discounts available at £39 per child per day.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fun Fest Franchising (UK) Ltd is a franchisor that trains and supports franchisees to operate Ofsted-registered children's holiday clubs during UK school holidays (half-terms, Easter, and Summer) for children aged 3-12. The franchise system includes an operations manual, training, Ofsted licence, ongoing mentoring, and an exclusive geographic territory for each franchisee. The core child-facing service offers a daily choice-based activity menu covering sports, creative, and adventure programmes, with supplementary after-school clubs, children's parties, and the Canopy Children's Nurseries franchise brand.

Product overview

Fun Fest Franchising (UK) Ltd operates a multi-brand childcare franchise business offering holiday clubs, after-school clubs, and children's parties under the Fun Fest brand. The core Fun Fest Holiday Clubs provide Ofsted-registered childcare for children aged 3-12 during school holidays, with a unique child-led choice model where children design their own activity programmes. The business also offers children's party services. In 2021, the company launched Canopy Children's Nurseries as a separate franchise brand providing nursery provision for professional working families using Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum with an Emilio Reggio approach. The company operates a franchise model with multiple operating units across the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Canopy Children's Nurseries: High quality nursery provision for professional working families. Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum offered based on Emilio Reggio approach to learning using open ended resources to stimulate creativity and critical thinking.

Products and services

• Fun Fest Holiday Clubs Ofsted-registered children's holiday clubs operating during half-terms, Easter and Summer. Offers children aged 3-12 a choice of different activities to design their own individual holiday programme.
• Fun Fest After School Clubs After-school club services providing childcare after the school day, operating during term time under the Fun Fest brand.
• Fun Fest Children's Parties Children's party services offering various themed activities and entertainment under the Fun Fest brand.
• Canopy Children's Nurseries High quality nursery provision franchise for professional working families, using the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum combined with an Emilio Reggio approach and open-ended resources to stimulate children's creativity and critical thinking.
• Fun Fest Franchise Programme Franchise licensing programme granting individuals the right to operate a Fun Fest Holiday Club within an exclusive UK geographic territory, including training, operations manual, Ofsted licence, and ongoing mentoring support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 123% year-on-year revenue growth
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Schools and Educational SettingscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSchools provide venue facilities (gym, sports hall, fields, classrooms, parking, toilets) for Fun Fest Holiday Clubs during school holidays. Schools receive guaranteed rental income up to £15k per annum with no additional work required for staff.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stagecoach Performing Arts: Established UK children's performing arts franchise network offering after-school and holiday activity programmes. Comparable franchise-based children's activity model targeting the same parent demographic.
• Perform Performing Arts: UK children's drama and performing arts franchise running weekly classes and holiday workshops. Operates a similar franchise-driven children's activity model for the same parent and school-age child segment.
• Premier Education: UK's largest provider of school-activity and holiday-club services, operating Premier Holiday Clubs with a similar Ofsted-registered, school-venue operating model. Closest direct peer in scale and proposition to Fun Fest.
• Kings Camps: UK-wide holiday camp provider running multi-activity day camps at school venues during school holidays. Directly comparable operating model, target customer (children 5–17), and venue strategy.
• Little Kickers: UK-origin children's football and sports activity franchise operating classes and holiday programmes via a franchise model. Comparable franchise structure and parent/customer demographic to Fun Fest.
• Camp Beaumont: Long-established UK operator of children's holiday day camps at school venues, offering activity-based programmes to the same working-parent segment as Fun Fest. Direct competitor for parent bookings during school holidays.
• Magikats: UK franchised educational activity provider offering after-school and holiday workshops in literacy, numeracy and creative subjects. Comparable UK franchise-based children's enrichment model.

Broad incumbents

• Busy Bees Nursery: Largest UK nursery chain and a key competitor to the newly launched Canopy Children's Nurseries sub-brand. Directly comparable to Fun Fest's nursery arm, though broader in scale and not franchise-operated.

Emerging players

• JumpingCLAY: UK franchised children's creative activity provider running after-school and holiday workshops. Comparable franchise model targeting schools and parents, though narrower in activity mix than Fun Fest.
• Gymboree Play & Music: International children's play, music and activity franchise with UK franchisees. Adjacent rather than identical offering, but a comparable franchise-driven early-years activity business model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/funfest
• Facebookfacebook.com/funfest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fun-festfranchising
• Instagraminstagram.com/funfest

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fun Fest Franchising (UK) ltd