£1.65m finance deal sees childcare provider launch eighth site

Childcare provider Tommies Childcare, headquartered in Coventry, has acquired its eighth nursery following a £1.65m finance deal.

The package from new banking partner HSBC includes a £1.4m re-finance of the business’s existing facilities and a £255,000 business loan.

The family-run business used the new loan to support the acquisition of Thornhill Nursery, a Victorian house in Derby which has the capacity to look after 44 children.
 
Thornhill is Tommies’ first acquisition in Derby and is part of the business’s wider geographical expansion plan that includes cities such as Nottingham, an area that the business is currently looking at for its ninth site.
 
Caroline Fooks, chief executive and founder of Tommies Childcare, said: “It has been twenty years since we opened our first site and to see where the business is now makes me so proud. Our ambition is to continue to grow the business by acquisition and we feel confident that our new banking partner, HSBC UK, will help us achieve this.
 
“We would like to thank our relationship manager at HSBC UK, Will Simpson, who has helped us throughout the switch and we look forward to working with him in the future as we expand the business.” 
 
David Tomlinson, area director of East Midlands, HSBC UK, said: “Caroline and her family wanted a flexible finance package and we were well placed to assist. It’s an exciting time for the business as they move into a new area and continue to look at new cities to expand the business into. It’s great to have them on board and we look forward to working with them over the coming years.”
 
Tommies Childcare celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018 and has eight sites in Coventry, Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Derby.