Jennie Johnson: Kids Allowed

Jennie Johnson
Age: 34
Company: Kids Allowed

Perplexed by the inflexible nature of many nurseries, Johnson decided it was high time she set up her own, Kids Allowed, which incorporates a myriad of services, such as after-school and holiday care for under 10s, dry cleaning and laundry. Johnson secured £5m in funding from a property developer, who built the two purpose-made Kids-Allowed centres last year, generating a £827,000 turnover. Funding is place for further nine centres in the North West, each set to generate £1.2m a year.

2012 update: There are four settings, as well as a training academy, with another setting due to open within the year. The business has a long-term expansion plan to ensure it retains its family atmosphere, which it seems to have achieved, picking up an Investors in People award this September.

2016 update:

Today, Kids Allowed employs well over 300 staff in its five locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, with a sixth due to open in 2017. Last year, she announced her ambition to employ 450 staff and hit turnover of £11m by 2020. In 2014, Kids Allowed launched a nanny service targeted at parents who work long or atypical hours outside of the company’s opening times. The bespoke service is tailored to the needs of the parents and the ratio of children to staff. Johnson was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 90^th Birthday Honours.