Pre-school sale enquiries rise as operators exit

Many centres brought to the firm were loss-making or had other issues that made them difficult to sell, he said.

ProEdu business broker Lin Qing also said more pre-school operators had approached her looking for buyers in the past two years.

She described the market as favouring buyers, with some centres proving so difficult to sell that she had declined to take them on.

Some landlords had also approached her to find replacement operators after childcare tenants decided to leave before their leases expired.

Buyers see avenue for expansion

Yet, as some operators seek an exit, others see an opportunity to expand.

Pre-school operator Lillipods, which draws inspiration from Finland’s early childhood education approach, took over the former Picket Fence centre at North View in Yishun.

A Lillipods spokesman said the centre’s appeal was that it already serves an established community, with children, families and educators in place. All existing staff were invited to remain, and all chose to stay.

The opportunity was introduced by an intermediary and proceeded as a commercial acquisition.

Lillipods also held dialogue sessions with parents to explain its approach and address questions about possible changes to areas such as the curriculum, fees and learning environment. “For a young child, a pre-school takeover should not feel like a corporate transaction,” the spokesman said.

Lillipods said it remains open to acquiring more centres here, alongside opening new ones.

For other buyers, taking over a pre-school is less about expansion than saving a place their children have come to love.

Nicole Tai is among a group of parents who took over Li Hwan By-the-Park earlier in 2026 after the pre-school announced that it would close.

The centre was renamed Wonder Yard Schoolhouse, with the takeover completed on April 1.

Tai said the parents had initially been helping the school to raise its enrolment and had no intention of buying a pre-school.

When the closure was finalised, families looked for alternative schools but struggled to find one with the same environment and teaching approach.

Tai said the parents were already familiar with the financial pressures of running a pre-school.

Monthly operating costs were high, she said, while enrolling more children would require another teacher to maintain staff-to-child ratios. Building upkeep, upgrades and teaching materials also added to costs.

Instead of transferring the licence to a new company, which she said could have taken much longer, the parents acquired the existing company along with its licences and contracts.

The process, from the decision to proceed to the handover, took less than two months.

Tai said the priority was ensuring that the administrative changes did not disrupt the children’s learning experience.

Another parent, Catherine Ong, made a similar decision in 2018 after the long-time owner of Kids and Kins Child Care Centre decided to retire.

Ong’s three children had attended the centre, and her family had known its owner and teachers for more than a decade.

At the time, she was a research scientist at DSO National Laboratories, where she had spent nearly 20 years in biodefence research and development.

When she heard that the owner intended to sell the centre and retire, she initially offered – partly in jest – to take over.

The owner was receptive, and Ong and her husband used their savings to buy the business despite having no experience running a company or working in early childhood education.

The previous owner gave them a 50% discount on the original asking price and guided them through the licence-transfer process.

Existing teachers agreed to stay, and one was trained to become the centre’s principal before the handover.

The process took around five months. Ong left her research career in 2019 to run the centre full-time.

ECDA said safeguards are in place to minimise disruption when pre-schools change licensees.

Existing licensees must give parents and guardians at least three months’ written notice of a proposed transfer and remain responsible for the centre’s operations and quality of care and education until the transfer takes effect.

Once the transfer is approved, the incoming licensee takes over under the existing licence tenure.

Changes to areas such as the pre-school’s name, curriculum or fees must still comply with ECDA requirements, including notification periods for parents.

Tan said the interest in pre-school sales should not be seen simply as operators abandoning the sector.

Among the buyers he has encountered are both existing pre-school groups looking to expand and first-time operators, often professionals in their 30s and 40s.

He sees this as a possible generational shift, with older operators handing over their centres to a younger crop of owners.