Foresight takes a look at nursery business

Foresight Group has invested an unspecified amount of development capital into the nursery group Peekaboonursery.info from Foresight Nottingham Fund, the £40m regional growth fund for growth businesses targeting Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, to fund the rollout strategy.

Founded in 2009, Peekaboo has a chain of four day nurseries, with the fifth opening shortly.

Foresight says it identified the opportunity to build a leading childcare group through a mixture of bolt-on acquisitions and new openings in a growing and highly fragmented market. As part of this expansion, Peekaboo will actively pursue opportunities in Nottinghamshire.

Founder and entrepreneur, Sarah Bellamy, whose background includes roles as digital director of Guardian Media Group and head of commercial and business development at Endemol, will continue as managing director. She will be joined on the board by chairwoman, Denise Burke, ex-CEO of Small-steps, the largest childcare nursery chain in the Netherlands with more than 250 nurseries.

Bellamy said: “I’m really excited by the direction and growth prospects that we are able to pursue with this additional growth capital. I am delighted to be working alongside Foresight and Denise Burke to drive the growth of the business in this dynamic market. With the funds and support from Foresight, we can take Peekaboo from a local business to a UK leader of excellence in early years’ childcare.”

Lizzie Ryan, investment manager, Foresight Group, added: “Peekaboo is a dynamic business with strong growth prospects and a clear strategy in a growing market. This is a compelling opportunity to build a leading brand in the highly fragmented day nursery sector. By combining the expertise and knowledge that Foresight has in growing small businesses with the operational and sector experience of the management team, we will go from strength to strength in the coming years.”