What-Franchise-Issue-20.1

ixing slime, baking a cake, building a den, designing a t-shirt, completing a mission, or having a dance off – that’s how Fun Fest franchisees spend their time. The business is an Ofsted- registered holiday club that aims to give children choice over how they spend their school breaks by offering a variety of activity programmes. Since its launch in 2017, the Fun Fest network has matured and produced a cohort of ‘expanding’ franchisees who are pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved, despite the seasonal business operating for 11-14 weeks a year. HELEN WILSON, CHESHIRE AND GREATER MANCHESTER Fun Fest franchisee, HelenWilson operates across several locations in Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Her business started five years ago with just a single club, but this year she’ll open her seventh club across three territories this summer, resulting in a £500,000 turnover. With a core management structure in place, quality remains her number one priority and with the purchase of a fourth territory underway, Helen says she’s not finished yet. GABRIELLA MARTIN, GREATER MANCHESTER Club manager, Gabriella, began working at Fun Fest while completing her teaching qualifications. Seeing the business in action gave her the confidence to apply for her own Fun Fest franchise, leading to a successful club launch last summer. The results so far have encouraged her to expand rapidly, with her second club opening this summer. LEANNE HORROCKS, LANCASHIRE After establishing her first two Fun Fest clubs, Leanne Horrocks saw the launch of her third club as the financial stability she needed to step away from her teaching job to become her own boss. Leanne’s success hasn’t happened overnight but steady and measured progress over the past five years has reaped the results she needed. JAG ARORA, HERTFORDSHIRE Jag has had big ideas from the start. His ambition is to build a Fun Fest empire which is exactly what he is doing in Hertfordshire. So far, strong initial success has enabled him to open four locations in just three years, having quickly seen the value of the brand. While Helen, Gabriella, Leanne, and Jag are playing a pivotal role in expanding the Fun Fest brand across the UK, the franchise is keen to expand its network further. It’s now looking for ambitious entrepreneurs who are hoping to invest in the children’s services space. M Established: 2017 Number of outlets: 42 Locations of units: South East, Midlands, Cheshire, Manchester, Chorley & Preston Total Investment: £23,000 +VAT FRANCH I SE OVERV I EW HelenWilson, Fun Fest Cheshire Meet the franchisees achieving £500,000 turnovers C H I L D R E N ’ S S E R V I C E S Don’t underestimate what you can achieve with a children’s franchise, says Fun Fest’s six-figure franchisees Minimum required capital: £11,000 +VAT F O R F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N Lynne Newman lynnenewman@funfest holidayclub.co.uk +44 7827 333183 71 WHAT-FRANCHISE.COM FUN FEST Behind the Brand | PARTNER CONTENT