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The first Blue Kangaroo is already open on King’s Road in Chelsea. The concept is centred around a restaurant that both adults and children will want to eat at with children’s entertainment added in, in big measures. The idea being that mum and dad can sit and enjoy a meal or a glass of wine while the kids play in a safe environment, watched over via giant screens. Equally parents can get involved in the kids play and the kids can eat too if they want to. The children’s menu is described by sales and marketing manager Emma Tasker as the sort of food from the freezer that children are eating but with the difference that it is being freshly prepared in Blue Kangaroo’s kitchen and using organic ingredients. “We are moving away from all the options that go with chips with things such as cottage pie and we also have good vegetarian options,” she says. Tasker says the ideal locations for Blue Kangaroo are on high streets with an affluent catchment and with good parking facilities. The minimum space requirement is 12,000 sq ft, but Tasker admits the real challenge is finding premises with a licence so that parents can have a well-earned glass of wine. “We would love to expand at a rate of knots but it is all about finding the right place,” she says. |
It was an industry worth £120m in the UK last year, according to Mintel, but some say this is just the tip of the iceberg. If the hype is to be believed, a children’s entertainment centre (CEC) could be coming to a neighbourhood near you in the next few years.
In America CECs are already well established, with some having been around for 25 years. Chuck E Cheese is one such brand with 479 restaurants in 48 states and half-yearly revenues in the region of $372m. Its concept combines good value food with plenty of interactive play to keep the kids entertained.
European countries such as Holland and Germany have also nurtured the children’s entertainment concept but the UK leisure market has been slow to adopt the idea. Spirit Group’s Wacky Warehouse concept – children’s play areas attached to family-friendly pubs, which attract on average 6.7m children each year – is one of the few well-known and successful British operations.
But that could soon be about to change. Kids Play, Kids Space, Little Gym, Hannah Banana, Blue Kangaroo and Eddie Katz, to name just a few, have all entered or are about to enter the market.
With at least three of these planning multiple operations, the market is set to literally explode. This fact has agents already being cautious about the growth.
“It is certainly a market that is coming out, but I don’t think anyone is quite sure how it will take off,” warns Petra Sewell of FPDSavills.
Toby Hall, director at ColliersCRE, believes comparisons can be drawn with another sector that boomed only to deflate spectacularly. “[The CEC market] is very much at the formative stages – where the health and fitness sector was five years ago.”
It is a parallel that many in the market are drawing, even to the extent of predicting consolidation and survival of the fittest in a few years time, as has happened with the health and fitness industry. “There will be people who jump in, get their financing and then lose out — there will be fall out,” says Sewell.
It will surprise few to note that many of those involved with launching CECs have previously been involved in gyms, and that redundant health and fitness space is among premises being considered by the new operators.
The sector already seems to be splitting into two groups – the larger, stand-alone formats on retail and leisure parks and smaller, urban operations. The attraction of old gym space is understandable as most operators are looking for big floor to ceiling heights, some as much as 7m, in order to accommodate play equipment.
“The expanding kids’ activity centre market gives sites that wouldn’t usually be considered prime A3 or seen as too far off the beaten track a whole new perspective,” says Davis Coffer Lyons director David Abramson.
Indeed Richard Farley, founder/director of Kids Space, says there are many buildings that could be adapted and that he has even looked at old night clubs as potential sites. Similarly, Abramson points to Kids Planet, which fought off competition from other CEC concepts to acquire a former car showroom in Radlett, Hertfordshire.
CEC operators could potentially offer landlords with tricky space a solution. Sewell points to Kidsports’ deal at Woodside leisure park in Watford as an example. She says the first floor space was difficult to let but proved suitable for Kidsports, which is paying £8.50 per sq ft. “It brings another sector onto a leisure scheme and is busy throughout the day. CECs tend to pay average D2 rents,” she comments.
The high number of new operators is leading some agents to predict strong competition. “With so many children’s centre operators on the acquisition trail, the next two years will see a real fight for good sites in affluent north and south London suburbs and to see who will become brand leader,” says Abramson.
But as with any new sector, the operators and their agents have got their work cut out, persuading landlords they are a good covenant and will still be trading in a year’s time. There will inevitably be casualties but for now CECs are not only injecting excitement into children’s playtime but some excitement into the leisure market too.
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Founder/director Richard Farley’s aim is for his concept to become a destination on retail and leisure parks. At 20-25,000 sq ft Kids Space is at the larger scale of CECs and Farley wants to create an “entertainment world for children”. Aimed at the 0-9 year-old age range, activities will vary from multi-sensory rooms for the youngest customers to wall climbs and laser quest-type games with foam balls for the older kids. The food offer will bend towards healthy options. “We want to pioneer children’s food but not to the point where kids don’t want to eat it. There are a lot of healthy alternatives that kids will eat,” he says. So the infamous chicken nuggets and chips are definitely not going feature on the Kids Space menu. Farley’s inspiration came from having a family of his own, and having worked in the property industry he thought it needed to “grow up”. He has just secured his first site on a leisure/retail park in the East Midlands and has secured heads of terms for two others. The business plan is to open at 25 sites within the next five years. |
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Taking its influence from US brands such as Chuck E Cheese, Eddie Katz is going to have a Disney-style, themed environment. American Maria Johnson, CEO of Eddie Katz, says the concept is aimed at 2-8 year olds and was born out of the desire to find somewhere to “sit down for 10 minutes” while the kids are entertained. Like Chuck E Cheese, Eddie Katz is going for pizza-based menu, with the average spend expected to £9.50 per head. Parents will also be able to drop in for just a coffee. “We are looking for family friendly food without being chicken nuggets and chips. It will be upmarket pizza while still being good value,” she comments. The property wish list is space sub-10,000 sq ft in urban areas. The company is currently in discussion with landlords at two sites, both within the M25 and Johnson says its entertainment-focused approach will complement retail schemes, and adult-based leisure schemes such as gyms and golf driving ranges. Expansion is planned at a modest one outlet a year. “We want to prove the concept first then go for a serious expansion,” says Johnson. And this will be centred on the Greater London area before taking the brand nationwide, she adds. |
