CHILDREN are big business for one Hampshire company which is thriving by providing the kind of entertainment kids want and the levels of service parents demand.

Based in Romsey Serendipity Sam's opened its doors to children last year and has already won the hearts of thousands of children in the region, and now business accolades for the entrepreneurial spirit of its owners, Paul and Cecilia Taylor.

Up to 600 children a day file into the playzone on the Romsey Industrial Estate and the venue hosts around 170 parties a month, two of the main sources of income for the company.

The idea of an indoor play centre and party venue for children began back in 1995 when their two children were young and on the lookout for top quality entertainment.

With nothing fitting the bill perfectly the family then spent several years investigating what entertained children, what parents wanted and how this could fit into a business plan.

Paul and Cecilia's children sampled play centres around the country and the couple scrutinised details of why and how different businesses succeed and why others fail.

Paul's previous success in running a retail outlet in Lymington was put to good use in formulating a business plan for the new company and the couple spent months finalising their plans, finding the right premises and securing the necessary funding for such an ambitious project.

They took advantage of Dti funding for the venture, remortgaged their home and overcame potential planning problems to set up Serendipity Sam's in Romsey last year.

Now employing around 40 people the company has quickly established an enviable reputation in the field of children's entertainment and their business acumen was rewarded recently when the company was named as one of the ten finalists in the HSBC Start Up Stars, an accolade which both surprised and delighted the pair.

"We thought we were just there to make up the numbers but there were more than 1,000 entries and we were congratulated on our success,'' said Paul.

Entering the competition also gave the couple the opportunity to reassess the future direction of the company and the pair are now looking for a second outlet in the region.

"We have always had a strong business plan but we have really looked closely at what we have achieved so far and where we are going,'' said Paul. "We always want to be able to offer a better service than competitors, in every area of the business from the quality of staff to the care we take, the food and drink we offer and the merchandise we are now offering.''

He said continuous improvement was an integral part of the business and that means always looking at ways to improve things and looking at ways to complement the core business.

"Children playing, parties, food and drink and now merchandise are now our core areas,'' said Paul. "We have launched our own range of children's clothes, we have a fantastic website and everything we do is carefully planned from our marketing to customer care and business planning behind the scenes.''

Work is now firmly underway on looking for a suitable venue for the second Serendipity Sam's with plans for the company to have five outlets in the next few years.

"Its certainly been a challenge but the first year was a success, we are building on that business and word of mouth has been a powerful tool in spreading the word.''