Welcome Nurseries continues its rapid expansion

The nursery group acquired three sites last month – Treeton, Padgate and Cannock, five in August and the others during the spring and summer months. 

Welcome Nurseries is due to complete on a further four nurseries this month, one of which is a 240-place setting, and aims to have 75 nurseries by the end of the year.

Founded in 2019, the group currently operates 53 settings, providing over 5,000 childcare places.

The latest acquisitions would make Welcome Nurseries easily one of the top 10 largest nursery groups in the country, based on figures from Nursery World’s 2021 Nursery Chains league table. The group was the 13^th largest in March when the supplement was published.

All 17 nurseries are currently being refurbished. The nursery group refurbishes every setting it buys.

Director Linda Cuddy said, ‘To keep standards as high as possible, we now have national managers working across the group, led by a team of senior managers and a strong board.’

All the nursery group's acquisitions are standalone settings and are self-funded.

Midlands nursery group

Tommies Childcare, which operates settings across the Midlands, has bought its ninth nursery.

The nursery group has acquired Karen’s Kindergarten in Birmingham, a 60-place setting, which was established in 2006 by former owner Karen Clake. The setting will be renamed Springthorpe Day Nursery.

Matt Fooks, director of Tommies Childcare, said, ‘We are delighted and thrilled to be welcoming this setting into the Tommies Childcare family of nurseries. This is a landmark moment for our organisation as we are expanding into Birmingham, an area which we have been hoping to operate in for some time now.

‘The nursery is in an excellent location, and we are already busy with plans to invest in new resources and equipment for the children in our care as well as an inspiring refurbishment of the setting.’

The sale of the nursery was handled by Christie & Co.