ParentPay buys SchoolHire for community income

ParentPay Group has completed the acquisition of School Hire Lettings Limited, trading as SchoolHire, in a deal that adds venue booking and payment technology to its wider ecosystem of software for schools.

SchoolHire operates an online platform that allows schools and other education organisations to manage the hire of facilities including sports halls, astro-pitches, swimming pools, and meeting spaces. By bringing availability, booking, and payment into one workflow, the platform is designed to help schools make better use of their estates while reducing the administrative burden attached to community lettings.

That proposition has become more relevant as school leadership teams look for additional income streams without creating more complexity for staff. ParentPay’s core business already sits inside the operational and payment flows of schools, covering areas such as meals, trips, clubs, and related services. Adding SchoolHire broadens that footprint into asset utilisation, giving the group a route into a part of school operations that blends finance, community engagement, and administrative efficiency.

Lewis Alcraft, chief executive at ParentPay Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome SchoolHire to ParentPay Group. Schools are under constant pressure to do more with less and are looking for smarter ways to make the most of their resources. SchoolHire reduces booking and payment complexity, helping schools to unlock value for themselves and the wider community, through easy access to their sports halls, pitches, and wider facilities”.

SchoolHire’s founders Charlie Gothold and David Nevies will remain with the business following the acquisition. In a joint statement, they said: “Joining ParentPay Group marks an exciting next step for SchoolHire. Our focus remains on delivering a high-quality booking and payment experience for schools and their customers, and we believe that being part of a larger education technology group will allow us to accelerate product development and reach even more schools”.

For ParentPay, the deal is less about headline scale than adjacency. School lettings sit close to the group’s existing payments capability, and the acquisition gives it another point of entry into how schools manage transactions, parent interactions, and underused facilities. For schools, the pitch is straightforward: better control of bookings, simpler payments, and a clearer route to generating community income from assets that might otherwise sit idle outside teaching hours.

The transaction also signals continued interest in practical education software that can save time as well as open new revenue opportunities. In that respect, SchoolHire’s platform adds a complementary operational layer to ParentPay’s existing suite rather than a separate line of business.