Gootopia, the London-based children’s slime party business part-owned by broadcaster Steph McGovern, has returned to profit following a period of rapid growth across the UK.
The company, which hosts events where children play with multi-coloured slime, was founded in 2018 and has since expanded from a single site to a dozen locations nationwide.
Its venues now include sites in Brixton, Bristol and Broadstairs, marking a significant footprint for a business built around an unconventional but clearly popular concept.
McGovern, a former BBC and Channel 4 presenter who now hosts the Rest is Money podcast alongside ITV political editor Robert Peston, was an early investor in Gootopia and has helped guide its expansion.
The podcast, owned by Goalhanger, has served as a frequent platform for McGovern to discuss the investment, including the headwinds the business has faced from rising costs.
She has openly referenced challenges including recent business rates increases, minimum wage rises, and national insurance hikes that have weighed on the company’s finances during its growth phase.
According to Gootopia’s latest annual report, the company recorded a £16,000 surplus in its profit and loss account for 2025, reversing a deficit of £22,000 the previous year.
The business also grew its workforce during the period, hiring an additional 10 members of staff to bring its total headcount to 45, though its tax bill more than doubled as a result of its expansion.
A partnership with Hamleys, the world’s oldest toy shop, has been a key driver of the company’s recent growth, with Gootopia hosting events at the retailer’s flagship Regent Street store and its Westfield Shepherd’s Bush location.
The business has also diversified its offering by launching a mobile slime party service, taking its messy entertainment directly to customers across the country.
Perhaps most notably, Gootopia has moved beyond its core children’s audience by introducing adult-focused events described as “slime and wine” nights, marketed as “brilliantly messy” evenings out.
Guests at these adult sessions can expect “vibrant colours, cheeky mix-ins, and even sexy scents,” according to the company, with all visitors leaving with two pots of custom slime “to remember the night by.”