Day nursery to reopen after national operator swoops

A Grantham day nursery that closed its doors in February is to reopen after being bought by a national childcare group.

Bells Day Nursery has been acquired by Alpha Nurseries, an Ipswich-headquartered business that currently operates 27 different childcare settings around the country.

The deal was brokered by Abacus Day Nursery Sales, a division of Blacks Business Brokers. The lease on the business was purchased by Alpha Nurseries off a guide price of £29,950 with an annual rent of £11,960 per year.

Bells Day Nursery, which was rated “Good” by Ofsted following its most recent inspection, first opened in 2013. It closed earlier this year as a result of the ill health of its owner and manager, Ann Macaulay.

Until shutting its doors in February the nursery was registered for up to 50 children and had an annual turnover of £150,000. The building houses separate rooms for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers as well as a dining area, library, arts and crafts room, soft play area and sensory room.

Its new owners plan to reopen the nursery in September this year with a new name: Newton House Day Nursery.

Chelsea Melnyk, sales negotiator at Blacks Business Brokers, said: “I am really pleased that we have found a new operator for this business so quickly, and that Grantham’s residents and commuters will soon once again have access to high-quality childcare in this superb, spacious facility.

“The market for day nurseries is very strong at the moment, with a lot of demand from both buyers and sellers. We have a growing roster of childcare businesses on our books but we have also completed quite a number of sales already this year, and the pipeline is looking really good for the rest of 2018.”