Goodstart

Goodstart was born out of the collapse of ABC Learning, the largest single provider of child care in the Australian market.

From the outset, the Goodstart syndicate adopted a social investment approach working across public, private and community sectors to build a consortium of partners and investors that were committed to quality service provision in the critical area of early childhood education and care.

SVA played a lead role in the Goodstart transaction, and in particular:

(a) developed and delivered the Goodstart capital structure and aligned capital providers; and

(b) was convener, facilitator, and driver of the syndicate and the acquisition, and the key capital raiser.

The mix and sources of capital for the transaction was pioneering for the non-profit sector in Australia. The funding package included senior debt financing from the National Australia Bank as well as $45 million of subordinated funding (including a $15 million medium-term loan from the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations). Of the $45 million of subordinated debt, $30 million represented social investment funds raised from private investors and philanthropists in the form of 12% coupon yielding subordinated notes.

Goodstart Early Learning is now one of the largest social enterprises of its type in Australia providing services to over 72,000 children and their families through 660 child care centres across the country.

Read the story about the successful buyout.

Case Study

A report on Goodstart Early Learning titled Goodstart: a social investment story case study was commissioned by Social Innovation Group in the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations as part of its work to promote dialogue and practice on social investment in Australia. This document details the background to the transaction, the processes used and the key issues considered at each stage of the social investment process.

Results

How Goodstart has balanced its social and commercial goals is explored in this SVA Quarterly article.

To find out more about Goodstart, including their most recent Annual Report, visit their Goodstart media centre.