No not at all. G8's occupancy will have improved because of a)...

No not at all. G8's occupancy will have improved because of a) it's currently the peak occupancy time b) they have been advertising and marketing solidly since August. They have 'community days' organised in quite a few of their centres over the next few weekends, which IMO perhaps indicates that enrolments for 2019 are not what they had hoped for.

Parents do seem to prefer independent operators, especially those where the owner is actively involved in the centre. The next question then is; what do large operators like Goodstart offer that attracts and sustains decent occupancy levels?  IMO the answer is quality and higher staffing ratios.

If any centre is turning a profit at 70% occupancy they are operating on minimum staff ratios and very possibly have too many trainees and step one educators on staff. That equates to a centre being empty for one and a half days! Banks currently wil not look at a centre that is sitting at under 85% occupancy.

G8 is hindered by it's blanket approach, centre's must be treated and operated as individual operations. I've mentioned previously about the restructuring of the roles of centre, area and regional managers, a regional manager responsible for 70 centres, is not connected to any of the centres within her community IMO.

They really do need to turn things around mainly for the children and families who attend their centres if they manage that, then shareholders will be rewarded, hopefully it's not too late, but stop marketing gimmicks and start advertising quality and a deep understanding of early childhood education and care.