Parent payment platform acquires "compelling" school meal specialist

Provider of school payment and parental engagement services ParentPay Limited has acquired BlueRunner Solutions Limited, a specialist in web and mobile based meal ordering solutions for schools and hospitality industries.

The deal extends ParentPay’s existing meal management platform with additional functionality for meal ordering in primary schools as well as rewards, loyalty and hospitality booking for schools and tertiary education institutions.

Crucially, BlueRunner also brings a new tablet-based meal ordering and cashless catering product for secondary schools, rounding off the group’s primary and secondary school meal management solutions.

The acquisition expands ParentPay’s reach into the hospitality and corporate catering markets in the UK.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was signed on December 31 2021, ParentPay Limited has acquired 100 per cent of the issued share capital in BR Limited.

Commenting on the deal, Mark Brant, group chief executive of ParentPay said: “ParentPay has long valued its relationship with school caterers and the ability to complement our existing suite of products with additional features for primary school catering alongside new cashless catering solutions for hospitality and secondary schools, is highly attractive.”

“We’re delighted to welcome BlueRunner to the Group and look forward to delivering even greater value to our customers and staff alike.”

Chris Schroeder, BlueRunner’s managing director and founder, added, “ParentPay’s leading position in the school payments market and its continued strong growth, present a compelling opportunity for BlueRunner.

“By combining with ParentPay’s significant customer base and leveraging its highly successful national field sales operation we will be able to bring the benefits of BlueRunner solutions to a larger number of clients.”

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