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SINGAPORE \u2013 More pre-school operators are mulling over potentially selling their centres, according to business brokers, as rising operating pressures and retirement plans prompt some owners to consider an exit.<\/p>\n
Education business broker EduGrow said it now has more than 20 childcare centres listed for sale at any one time, up from around five to 10 previously.<\/p>\n
Since 2024, it has received 87 inquiries from childcare operators considering a sale, although not all eventually put their centres on the market.<\/p>\n
Other brokers reported a similar rise in interest, particularly among those struggling with manpower costs, rents and competition for enrolment.<\/p>\n
But this has not necessarily translated into more centres changing hands.<\/p>\n
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said it processed about 50 to 70 applications for a transfer of licence each year from 2021 to 2025.<\/p>\n
The number fluctuated from year to year, with no discernible trend, it said. As at Sept 30, about 30 transfer-of-licence applications had been approved in 2026.<\/p>\n
Such transfers are required when a pre-school changes licensees.<\/p>\n
This can happen when a centre is sold to a new owner, but also when the type of entity owning the centre changes, such as when an operator converts from a sole proprietorship to a private limited company.<\/p>\n
Hence, the figures do not reflect the number of pre-school sales.<\/p>\n
EduGrow founder Benjamin Tan said many owners approaching his firm are long-time, single-centre operators who are reaching retirement age and do not have family members willing to take over.<\/p>\n
\u201cA large group of founder-operators opened their centres in the 2000s when the Government was pushing hard for more childcare capacity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of them are now in their 50s and 60s, their children have built careers elsewhere, and without anyone to take over, a sale is the only exit available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
EduGrow has brokered the sale or takeover of 21 childcare centres over the past 24 months.<\/p>\n
Tan said Singapore\u2019s falling birth rate is not the only reason why operators are exploring selling their centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have two centres in the same catchment area, with one close to full and the other at half-capacity,\u201d he said, adding that how a centre is marketed and run also matters.<\/p>\n
TheCo, which began focusing on pre-school transactions in 2025, received about three to five seller inquiries a month in 2026.<\/p>\n
Its principal consultant, Tianhao Chua, said sellers tend to be independent operators with one to three centres, or franchisees of larger brands.<\/p>\n
Many centres brought to the firm were loss-making or had other issues that made them difficult to sell, he said.<\/p>\n
ProEdu business broker Lin Qing also said more pre-school operators had approached her looking for buyers in the past two years.<\/p>\n
She described the market as favouring buyers, with some centres proving so difficult to sell that she had declined to take them on.<\/p>\n
Some landlords had also approached her to find replacement operators after childcare tenants decided to leave before their leases expired.<\/p>\n
Yet, as some operators seek an exit, others see an opportunity to expand.<\/p>\n
Pre-school operator Lillipods, which draws inspiration from Finland\u2019s early childhood education approach, took over the former Picket Fence centre at North View in Yishun.<\/p>\n
A Lillipods spokesman said the centre\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The opportunity was introduced by an intermediary and proceeded as a commercial acquisition.<\/p>\n
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. \u201cFor a young child, a pre-school takeover should not feel like a corporate transaction,\u201d the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Lillipods said it remains open to acquiring more centres here, alongside opening new ones.<\/p>\n
For other buyers, taking over a pre-school is less about expansion than saving a place their children have come to love.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The centre was renamed Wonder Yard Schoolhouse, with the takeover completed on April 1.<\/p>\n
Tai said the parents had initially been helping the school to raise its enrolment and had no intention of buying a pre-school.<\/p>\n
When the closure was finalised, families looked for alternative schools but struggled to find one with the same environment and teaching approach.<\/p>\n
Tai said the parents were already familiar with the financial pressures of running a pre-school.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The process, from the decision to proceed to the handover, took less than two months.<\/p>\n
Tai said the priority was ensuring that the administrative changes did not disrupt the children\u2019s learning experience.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Ong\u2019s three children had attended the centre, and her family had known its owner and teachers for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
At the time, she was a research scientist at DSO National Laboratories, where she had spent nearly 20 years in biodefence research and development.<\/p>\n
When she heard that the owner intended to sell the centre and retire, she initially offered \u2013 partly in jest \u2013 to take over.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The previous owner gave them a 50% discount on the original asking price and guided them through the licence-transfer process.<\/p>\n
Existing teachers agreed to stay, and one was trained to become the centre\u2019s principal before the handover.<\/p>\n
The process took around five months. Ong left her research career in 2019 to run the centre full-time.<\/p>\n
ECDA said safeguards are in place to minimise disruption when pre-schools change licensees.<\/p>\n
Existing licensees must give parents and guardians at least three months\u2019 written notice of a proposed transfer and remain responsible for the centre\u2019s operations and quality of care and education until the transfer takes effect.<\/p>\n
Once the transfer is approved, the incoming licensee takes over under the existing licence tenure.<\/p>\n
Changes to areas such as the pre-school\u2019s name, curriculum or fees must still comply with ECDA requirements, including notification periods for parents.<\/p>\n
Tan said the interest in pre-school sales should not be seen simply as operators abandoning the sector.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He sees this as a possible generational shift, with older operators handing over their centres to a younger crop of owners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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