Posted:19-October-2023
SWIMMING IN SUCCESS: KNIGHTS ACCELERATES PUDDLE DUCKS EXPANSION IN THE FRANCHISING WORLD
NOTTINGHAM FRANCHISE lawyers at professional services company Knights have helped take one of the UK’s leading pre-school swimming brands to new heights - surpassing a milestone of over 50 operating territories through a network of 30 franchisees.
Fiona Boswell, commercial partner and franchising expert at Knights, has been working with Puddle Ducks, a 20-year established franchise network, for over seven years. The franchisor has achieved five-star franchisee satisfaction for 11 years running and provides world-class swimming lessons to approximately 25,000 children UK-wide, from birth to ten years, through its various swim programmes.
The pioneering programme - founded by Jo Stone - is now designing and launching its own branded purpose-built pools to be rolled out across the UK, targeting venues within a family-orientated leisure or retail offering.
The first, a flagship swimming centre in Barons Quay, Cheshire, is consistently fully booked and has a waiting list, which has activated Puddle Ducks’ growing search for new pools and swim teachers in a number of areas nationwide, in order to meet growing demand.
Knights franchising, employment and property specialists have advised on several pool builds from a commercial perspective. This has involved revising contractual and policy documentation to meet regulatory compliance procedures, adherence to lesson structures and ensuring there is cohesive branding across the board.
Fiona said: “As a leading adviser to national and international brands of all sizes across a huge range of sectors, Knights has supported many ongoing success stories, but Puddle Ducks is by far one of the most exciting ventures to watch expand.
“It’s been incredibly enjoyable to be a part of this next stage of growth, which will give franchisees full control of their operations, without being solely reliant on third party-owned pools such as those in hotels, schools and gyms. It’s an interesting move and you can really see it taking off, especially as it is backed by strong, ethical values and the franchisor is constantly finding new ways to help franchisees maximise their businesses.”
With recent news that local authorities are struggling to keep local leisure centres and swimming pools open due to the high cost of energy and rising leasing options, Puddle Ducks is confident that its growing franchisee database can fill the gap for highly necessary children’s swimming services nationwide.
Fiona continued: “There are a lot of opportunities in the UK, such as building partnerships with the hospitality and entertainment sector to grow complementary offerings and services. Several franchisees have also brokered relationships with pools in independent schools, so their passion to grow has many avenues, which will help them to become a fully sustainable model for the future.”
Jo Stone, owner of Puddle Ducks, said: “Following the aftermath of several lockdowns and growing energy rates, local communities are at risk of losing their leisure centres. Our ethos has always been to ensure every child and parent is able to access swimming lessons – which is a major life skill.
“Fiona and the Knights team have been an invaluable part of our journey, helping us to focus on relationships with our franchisees, and the community, while they iron out the legal and commercial outputs.
“As a franchisor, it’s important to have different levels of opportunities for the range of people joining as your network grows - you could have newcomers and very experienced operators who might have two or three branches. Knights help us to police the brand and ensure that the documentation and policies keep up with our growth - it’s a constantly changing exercise, but also a very fulfilling one.”
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