Market round-up: Nursery groups continue to grow

Saurus Nurseries, which operates nine settings in East and West Sussex has bought three Tudor House Montessori nurseries based in and around Burgess Hill.

The remaining three Tudor House Montessori nurseries will continue to be run by their existing owners Roy and Carole-Ann Benson.

Saurus owner and director Ray Phoon, who runs the group with wife Rikke, said, ‘We have an existing Saurus nursery in Burgess Hill which is fully subscribed. Tudor Montessori Group is a fantastic group of nurseries and will complement ours with staffing and occupancies. We intend to continue growing the Saurus Group with new acquisitions.’

The Just Childcare group has bought its second nursery in a month with the purchase of Pebbles Nursery and Pre-School, to add to its existing High Flyers setting in Yeadon.

Set in a historic building in parkland within Nunroyd Park in Yeadon, Pebbles Nursery (below) was established in 2013 and has the capacity to provide 104 childcare places.

David Johnson, CEO of Just Childcare, said, ‘The moment we saw Pebbles we were convinced it was a nursery that would be a valuable addition to our family. The building and the parkland it sits in are magnificent, providing a unique, natural inspiring environment that’s further enhanced by the nursery’s dedicated team of early years professionals.’

It also recently bought The Village Day Nursery in Wigan in April.

The Just Childcare group now owns and operates 62 settings providing more than 4,700 places across the North West, Yorkshire and South West.

Meanwhile, Monkey Puzzle which has franchisee nursery owners operating under the brand, has sold its Wilmslow nursery in Cheshire to Nina’s Nurseries, an expanding group of eight nurseries.

After 10 years, owner Liz Butterworth's lease agreement for the premises was reaching its end and she decided that it was the right time to hand the business over to a new owner. 

The nursery has been acquired by Nina’s Nurseries, which was founded by Nina Stones in 2001. The deal takes the number of nurseries to eight, with its existing seven settings based in Cheshire providing just over 300 childcare places. 

As part of its growth strategy, East Midlands-based Cherubs Nurseries has acquired 73-place Beginnings Nursery in Mapperley, Nottingham, which opened in 2019.

This acquisition takes Cherubs Nurseries to 14 nurseries, offering a total of 973 places.

Pictured at their new nursery, the Cherubs Nurseries senior management team, including (left to right): parent experience manager Heather Nash, managing director Susan Mills, quality manager Lucy Tutin, and operations manager Sarah Savage

Managing director, Susan Mills said, 'As we transition out of the pandemic we are able to see the early signs of security and sustainability in the early years sector. This means we can move forward with growth plans that were temporarily halted due to Covid-19.'

Following two acquisitions in 2019 (Cherubs Edwinstowe and Cherubs Ruddington) she said the group was  'committed to growing even further and are actively exploring new opportunities across the Midlands and beyond.

'With this in mind, I am pleased to welcome Beginnings Day Nursery to Cherubs Nurseries. The nursery has recently been refurbished and aligns perfectly with our new approach to early years inspired by Montessori, Hygge, Reggio and Forest School.'

In addition to growth plans, Cherubs Nurseries is also in the process of carrying out refurbishment projects at six of its existing nurseries, including Cherubs Executive House, Kimberley, Longdale, Ruddington, South Normanton and Sutton in Ashfield.

Monkey Puzzle’s operations director, Mr Stuart Graham, said, ‘At Monkey Puzzle, our primary desire is for communities to be served by great nurseries run by great operators, and for many years Wilmslow has been wonderfully served by Liz and her team under the Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries brand.

'We are proud to have supported Liz throughout her journey as an Early Years provider as part of our franchised network of nurseries across the UK. The nursery now moves on to another chapter in its story under the leadership of Nina’s Nurseries, meeting our desire for the continuation of great childcare for the community. We congratulate all involved and wish them all the very best for the future.’

Chief founding officer of Nina’s Nurseries, Ms Stones, said, ‘I’m extremely excited to welcome the former Monkey Puzzle, Wilmslow Day Nursery (now rebranded as Nina’s Nursery Wilmslow) into our group. The nursery provides excellent quality childcare with a long-standing manager and team who are a perfect match as they share the same ethos and values. Each nursery is unique because they all form part of their local communities, each with differing needs.'

Sofia Beck, associate director at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, said, ‘This was a particularly unique transaction, where we were looking for a specialist purchaser who the opportunity would be a good fit for. Despite the challenges faced last year, which forced the closure of some businesses within this sector, the opportunity received a strong level of interest throughout the marketing process.’

Lastly, the UK’s third largest group Kids Planet is due to open its 60^th setting, a new, purpose-built childcare nursery in Chorley, Lancashire this November.

Located in the new Buckshaw Village development, the nursery will be registered for 120 places and cater for babies from six weeks to pre-school age.

The group says it expects to create around 40 new jobs and that the new nursery will benefit from ‘bright open spaces’ with natural materials, a state-of-the-art sensory room, and direct access to large outdoor areas.

Clare Roberts, CEO at Kids Planet, said, ‘Despite the challenging year, we are thrilled to announce the opening of a brand-new nursery in Chorley.  With the highest quality of care, we offer the best possible start for children in a safe and nurturing environment, and we look forward to welcoming children at the end of the year.’