KidsKonnect, a Dutch childcare software provider, is continuing its international expansion plans through acquiring Blossom Educational (“Blossom”), a UK-based provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for local childcare organisations

Through this combination, the KidsKonnect group now serves over 14,000 childcare locations across The Netherlands, the UK and Belgium, including several of the largest childcare chains in Europe.

As the childcare sector continues to experience major funding challenges, staff retention issues and increasing costs, integrated childcare management and parent communication software solutions enable nurseries more than ever to drive operational efficiencies while allowing staff members to spend more time with children and improve the overall quality of childcare.

Peter Baars, chief executive and co-founder of KidsKonnect, commented: “We have been impressed with the recent growth trajectory of Blossom and we believe the acquisition is an important step in our vision to become the leading software provider for both large and small childcare organisations across Europe, now also with a dedicated presence in the UK. Entering the UK is also a significant milestone in our ambition to be the main technology partner for internationally operating nursery chains.”. This is KidsKonnect’s first acquisition in the UK and 4th acquisition in total since Five Arrows, the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co, invested in the business in December 2021.

Blossom, the brainchild of managing director Sam Thakrar and former early years teacher Sara Thakrar is one of the most proven, trusted and technically advanced solutions on the market. Prior to closing its first round of investment, the husband-and-wife duo teamed up with sales director and former Deloitte strategy consultant Ash Pajpani and chief technology officer Daniel Waligora to co-found the business in 2017. Today the platform boasts an enviable suite of in-house developed functionality from Child Development, Billing, Staffing, Administration and Parent communication.

With over 1,000 clients in the UK and growing year-on-year, managing director Sam Thakrar commented: “Our collaboration with KidsKonnect will result in a more agile business with the capability to further advance our nursery software that is entirely focussed on the user experience, for both parents and owners; and at the same time enhance our enterprise proposition as more and more groups look at consolidation”.

Peter Baars further commented: “We are committed to significantly invest in the further development of our UK presence with one of the most secure, multi-lingual and feature-rich solutions to support the delivery of high quality childcare”.

Pajpani and Waligora commented: “This is an exciting time for both Blossom and KidsKonnect as we strive to develop the next generation of childcare software, that already supports over 100,000 parents in the UK alone”.

The entire founding team remains with the company as they continue to build and refine the company’s strategy, culture, and technology, ensuring its long-term success for its existing and new customers.