5 Reasons to Buy a Lightbridge Academy in Florida

Lightbridge Academy®, one of the nation’s leading providers of early childhood education and child care, has been experiencing major franchise growth over the past few years. Now, the East Coast-based franchise is expanding into new states and providing entrepreneurs the opportunity to introduce an essential service to their local community. One of those states is Florida, with the brand planning to open centers faster as it builds out its footprint in The Sunshine State. Here are the five reasons franchisees should invest in a Lightbridge Academy in Florida.

The Right Demographics

Florida has continued to have exponential growth across the MSA markets. After decades of rapid population increases, Florida officially became the nation’s fastest-growing state in 2022 for the first time in 60 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Younger families are moving to town for various reasons, whether it be the political atmosphere, the business-friendly climate or the tax breaks,” said Lightbridge Academy Chief Development Officer Craig Murray. “It is one of the top growing areas in the country and the housing market has also continued to remain strong. This creates a great opportunity for LBA to expand upon its Florida footprint.”

Lightbridge Academy currently has one center open in Tampa, with many more to come. “Our overall goal is to better serve the community through our Circle of Care philosophy and provide the ever-growing population with the highest quality early childhood education and child care possible,” said Murray.

Territory Availability

Despite booming demand, there is an abundance of available land to purchase, lease or build upon in Florida. “There is quite a bit of open area outside of major cities and we can have a better speed-to-market than many competitors,” said Murray. “This isn’t the case in other areas of the country, which are more developed and have already expanded.” 

Lightbridge Academy aims to grow in 10 MSA markets all across Florida, with room to add between four and six centers in each one. The top markets include Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, Tampa, Orlando, Naples-Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Deerfield Beach, Jacksonville and Miami. 

An In-Demand Offering

Unlike some markets, Murray says Florida has an in-depth understanding of the importance of quality child care centers. Nearly 30% of the entire population is made up of families with children under 18. “Many of the child care centers in the area are franchises, rather than mom and pop centers,” said Murray. “This means families are already used to the franchise model and the services we can provide them.”

Lightbridge Academy’s Circle of Care® recognizes the network surrounding a child’s development by placing equal importance on the needs of children, their families, teachers, center owners and the community. With this, the brand continues to stand out from competitors with industry-leading programs like ParentView® Internet Monitoring, a parent eCommunication app, extended hours and state-of-the-art security systems. In 2020, the brand also introduced The Lightbridge Promise®, the Gold Standard in health and safety for child care, including installing an enhanced air purification and filtration system along with heightened cleaning and sanitation processes.

Leadership Support

For franchisee candidates concerned about bringing a brand to a new market for the first time, Murray says there is nothing to worry about. The Lightbridge Academy team is dedicated to providing franchisees with all of the support they need to open a new center and carve out a niche in their local community.

“We have a fully integrated new center team, which includes support members from real estate, construction, state regulation, education, etc,” said Murray. “When you open your center, you have the full weight of the organization in each department helping you understand how to succeed in your individual market. Although our brand is not widespread yet, the team is there to help you in every way and get your center off the ground.” 

Land-Banking Strategy

Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of this support infrastructure is Lightbridge Academy’s new “land-banking” strategy. 

In the past, the timeline from signing to opening could take close to two years, especially for first-time franchisees who were learning the ropes of negotiating and securing qualified commercial real estate. As part of the new strategy, the Lightbridge team is proactively leasing sites at the corporate level before franchise owners are signed. This allows Lightbridge to leverage its partnerships in the development world and shorten that time frame, giving franchise owners the possibility of opening immediately upon signing in certain markets while giving the landlord a guarantee as well. 

“We are getting ahead of franchise sales and are actively looking at sites that we know are in great locations, whether it be a second generation child care center or brand new land,” said Murray. “We will start to develop the center while identifying the ideal franchise owner simultaneously. We can start working on the lease, the design and the construction, so that when a franchisee does sign on in Florida, they are already ready to open. We are helping reinvent how we do the franchise model.”

For example, Lightbridge Academy recently signed a lease in Wesley Chapel as part of the land-banking strategy. The signed lease is for a brand new parcel of land on Gateway Boulevard that is set to be developed with a few other co-tenants. “It is right in the heart of Wesley Chapel, which allows us to be a more convenient option as The Solution for Working Parents®, especially as they head back to work in the office,” Murray said. 

Lightbridge Academy sold 27 units in 2022 as it entered new markets such as Michigan, Ohio and Texas while continuing to grow in existing Mid-Atlantic markets like North Carolina and Florida. The company is now eyeing entering untapped markets across Florida, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia with qualified franchise partners.

For more information on single or multi-unit franchising opportunities with Lightbridge Academy, visit https://lightbridgeacademyfranchise.com/multi-unit/.