Dundee kids’ sports class firm Racquet Buddies looks to score more customers

A Dundee business providing racquet sports classes for children has unveiled national franchising plans for the year ahead.

Donnelly last year completed the Coca-Cola 5by20 Dundee programme, boosting her business skills. Picture: Kelly McIntyre.

Racquet Buddies is the brainchild of Hayley Donnelly, a former primary school teacher who has also represented Scotland in badminton, and offers classes for kids aged two to 12.

It now offers 14 classes for almost 200 children across Dundee, Angus and Fife, generating a turnover of £70,000. Donnelly has now set her sights on recruiting 1,000 “racquet buddies”, initially branching into Perthshire, wider Angus and north Fife and, ultimately, right across Scotland. across Scotland in the next three years.

Donnelly said, “Many other exercise classes for children are rather formulaic - but we put a huge amount of effort into ensuring that our classes are varied, stimulating and engaging.”

Hayley believes that her ambitions for business growth can be best secured through franchising, adding, “We are now looking to identify people who not only have a passion for sport and healthy living but who enjoy working with children and who, ideally, might also have teaching experience.”