Property investor acquires eight nursery sites
The Harkalm Group has agreed the acquisition of eight properties that house nurseries, backed by a £2.1m loan from OakNorth.
The nurseries, located in Devon, Hampshire, Walsall and Birmingham, will be let to the Old Station Nursery Group, an operator with 78 sites nationwide.
Led by CEO and co-founder Adam Harvey, The Harkalm Group is a commercial property investor and developer specialising in retail, roadside, supermarket and education properties.
Harvey said: “Harkalm has a proven track record in both sale-and-leaseback transactions and the day nursery sector, making this portfolio an ideal fit with our strategic vision. This transaction exemplified the seamless collaboration between our acquisitions team and our in-house professionals, allowing us to efficiently navigate a relatively complex deal.
“There are clear synergies between Harkalm’s approach to acquisitions and OakNorth’s entrepreneurial approach to lending. Their transparency, responsiveness, and deep understanding of the UK’s commercial real estate and early years markets were evident from our very first meeting. This expertise, combined with their commitment to a straightforward and efficient process, played a significant role in the successful completion of this transaction.”
Greg Manson, director of debt finance at OakNorth said: “This transaction represented an exciting opportunity to support a company that we’ve been hugely impressed with for several years now. Adam and the team have built an incredibly strong and entrepreneurial firm, that continues to add value in everything it does.
“The combination of an award-winning and experienced operator in Old Station Nursery Group, with the projected tailwinds for the UK’s childcare market, means this acquisition is set to be another success story for the group. We look forward to watching their growth story going forward and supporting them on future growth projects.”
