Children's play places

[KevF]

Sitting in a Playplace near us at the weekend, I was amazed at how basic the one I was in was.

Basically an industrial unit with 3 bouncy castles and a sand pit...they also had a very small kitchen which provided hot and cold sandwiches and an extortionate price.

Staffing seemed minimal as large notices around the place but the onus fairly and squarely on the parent to supervise their children and not let them use equipment that was listed as the wrong age group.

Anyone in the market and offer these. I would like to Pm you with some questions....

Kev

[Route324]

Why not post the questions here and that way we can share any knowledge in the answers?

I looked into opening one of these indoor childrens activity centres a couple of years ago - but dismissed for a number of reasons - would be interested to hear the comments of anyone that actually runs one?

[KevF]

I have no problems posting the questions but didnt know whether anyone running one would be forthcoming on a public forum..


1. Do you need to have a Police check on staff

2. Is there any regular Environmental checks the business needs to under go to provide regular records of cleanliness.

3. Noticed a moving away from ball pits to more soft play kind of experiences. Is the reason based on cost or hygiene?

4. Average length of stay for a typial family (not there for birthdays etc)

5. Do you have a themed party room or rooms and how often do they get used.

6. Any issues with the Planning authorities and any stipulations on the provisions required?

Kev

[Taita]

Would imagine you need CRBing off all staff. And that there would be a fair bit of legislation / red tape.

[Route324]

Taita said:

Would imagine you need CRBing off all staff.

I think CRB checks only need apply if the staff are being left with the children unsupervised - as with teachers, etc. But needs checking.

Taita said:

And that there would be a fair bit of legislation / red tape.

Yep, especially around Health & Safety of premises, equipment, etc also food hygeine (if served) - even basic stuff like sandwiches.

[jamesuk28]

I would add to the list:

"How much does your Public Liability insurance cost, and what level of cover do you have"

[richardxjr]

Whilst many of these appear to be chav-infested stholes which cannot possibly make any money, this one has built a really good reputation and seems to be expanding. Good catchment area. It is the only one of its ilk I am quite happy to take my 2 to (4 & 8yrs).

It was very busy on Saturday. When busy they limit the visit to 1.5-2hours.
Being on an ind estate means plenty of parking at the weekend.

A huge capital investment but good income I reckon.

http://www.monkey-bizness.co.uk/

[Noel]

I get plenty of enquires for sheds I'm letting/selling from these sort of operators. Most of them seem to be start ups and they never actually acquire the space.

The use class is different to that of standard industrial/distribution operators and an application to the planners would be required. You'd also need to deal with consent from the freeholder if leasing.

Your fit out costs might also be higher than you anticipate as standard warehouses are very, very basic. Buying freehold some developers don't install kitchens or toilets.

[monthefish]

IIRC, there was a program about businesses that was on relatively recently (within the last year?), and one episode fetaured a woman trying to do just that.

'Risking it all' it was called (or something like that)

[igiveup]

monthefish said:

IIRC, there was a program about businesses that was on relatively recently (within the last year?), and one episode fetaured a woman trying to do just that.

'Risking it all' it was called (or something like that)

http://www.flying-fortress.co.uk/

[paulpsz008]

I don't know specifically about these places, but I have a lot of dealings with half ars*d versions of this.

Costs (both set-up & running) are pretty much fixed, so it simply comes down to spend/head and how many through the door.

[Noel]

paulpsz008 said:

I don't know specifically about these places, but I have a lot of dealings with half ars*d versions of this.

Costs (both set-up & running) are pretty much fixed, so it simply comes down to spend/head and how many through the door.

How can set up costs be fixed? You might have a standard £ per sq ft figure for fit out but it will obviously increase with the size of building you take.

There must be franchises for these which would assist with giving a brand, having a standard and well considered fit out which may be procured at a preferential rate.

Edited by Noel on Tuesday 11th November 20:13

[paulpsz008]

As I said what I see is slightly different (still kid's playing but more educational).

However, from what I've seen there is a basic level of facillities required and even the best "with bells on version" will only be 25% or so bigger.

That said there will always be exceptions, such as the one on that "risking it all" programme.

[monthefish]

igiveup said:

monthefish said:

IIRC, there was a program about businesses that was on relatively recently (within the last year?), and one episode fetaured a woman trying to do just that.

'Risking it all' it was called (or something like that)

http://www.flying-fortress.co.uk/

That's the one!!

their website said:

The Centre is the creation of the Roberts family who all had an input into the project.
It took Violaine and her family four years and a lot of hard work to make the dream come true, with Ricochet Productions filming them for the Channel 4 documentary series 'Risking it All'.

[richardxjr]

monthefish said:

igiveup said:

monthefish said:

IIRC, there was a program about businesses that was on relatively recently (within the last year?), and one episode fetaured a woman trying to do just that.

'Risking it all' it was called (or something like that)

http://www.flying-fortress.co.uk/

That's the one!!

their website said:

The Centre is the creation of the Roberts family who all had an input into the project.
It took Violaine and her family four years and a lot of hard work to make the dream come true, with Ricochet Productions filming them for the Channel 4 documentary series 'Risking it All'.

5 years on and they are just about making a profit.

[davidd]

A friend of mine has just set one up in our village.

I think the change of use was a bit of a pain to get (it is in an industrial unit) but the fit out seemed straight forward enough (not cheap mind).
His biggest headache is predicting usage and therefore staffing levels.

It is something we had thought about (at the same location as it is next to a zoo) but seeing how he is getting on I'm glad we did not!

D

[blackcab]

I have often wondered about these places cos I seem to spend every other saturday in them - I think you could make a wage from one but I dont think its ever going to change your life, think the one near me is about £3 an hour, the coffee is about same price !

[Rav]

Staffing will be your biggest headache.

Also profits will be good in the winter, but your place will be dead in the summer. Hot summers killed at least two places like this in Swindon.

[Tony427]

During the 90's I started a company that built and installed these indoor play areas ( about 200 of them in total) costing from £10k to £250k each. We even built the biggest childrens indoor adventure play centre in Europe. I thought about building and operating my own but the figures just didnt stack up, even with my own company building the centre at cost, unless its part of a large and well attended destination leisure operation.

The market then got saturated with almost every pub having a jungle bungle/ deep sea den/ treasure island/ wacky warehouse operation as a draw for the family market. ( I have ruined so many pubs I hang my head in shame).

Lots of pubs have since removed the play centres but I would still be extremely cautious about embarking on this business opportunity. I got out of the industry just prior to its decline in the late 90's but I may still know a thing or two about slides, ball cannons, ball pools and the horrible things you have to clean out of them etc etc.....

Cheers,

Tony

[Tony427]

During the 90's I started a company that built and installed these indoor play areas ( about 200 of them in total) costing from £10k to £250k each. We even built the biggest childrens indoor adventure play centre in Europe. I thought about building and operating my own but the figures just didnt stack up, even with my own company building the centre at cost, unless its part of a large and well attended destination leisure operation.

The market then got saturated with almost every pub having a jungle bungle/ deep sea den/ treasure island/ wacky warehouse operation as a draw for the family market. ( I have ruined so many pubs I hang my head in shame).

Lots of pubs have since removed the play centres but I would still be extremely cautious about embarking on this business opportunity. I got out of the industry just prior to its decline in the late 90's but I may still know a thing or two about slides, ball cannons, ball pools and the horrible things you have to clean out of them etc etc.....

Cheers,

Tony