Children’s nursery business set for expansion after £5m investment
A private equity firm has invested £5m in a children’s nursery business in Somerset.
Evelyn Partners advised on Foresight Group’s on its investment in Family Adventures Group Ltd.
The investment will allow the children’s leisure venue and day nursery business to open a raft of new sites across the South West and the Midlands – creating around 140 jobs a year over the next three years.
Family Adventures Group was founded by husband-and-wife team Tom and Laura Filer in 2019 and is headquartered in Wedmore.
Its operations are built on a “hub and spoke” model which sees a children’s leisure site opening with accompanying nurseries created nearby.
There are currently six nursery sites across the South West and Midlands: in Cheddar, Worle, Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater, Taunton and Dudley. These are supported by two leisure venues, Ocean Adventurers in Cheddar, Space Adventurers in Taunton, with a third site, Little Town Adventures in Weston-super-Mare, due to open soon.
Jennifer Taylor has been appointed chief finance officer as part of the investment from Foresight, a leading regional private equity and infrastructure investment manager.
She joins from iQ Student Accommodation and Pearson plc. Meanwhile Ann Elliott, who has worked at board level for companies including Pizza Hut and Beefeater, has been named chair.
Iain Lownes, corporate finance partner, led on the deal on behalf of Evelyn Partners.
He said: “Family Adventures Group is an award-winning supplier with a very strong management team.
“Its growth strategy will address the growing need within the South West and Midlands for increased provision for early years childcare where there are currently not enough places to meet demand.”
Nick Mettyear, senior investment manager at Foresight Group, said: “Tom and Laura have created an exciting business model that shows real potential for growth. The team are targeting areas where there has been a chronic shortage of quality early years education options and will provide to parents an excellent alternative.
“The imaginative playscapes in the leisure sites will also bring a new approach to educational and interactive play which will be enjoyable for all children from 2-12. Foresight is looking forward to supporting Tom and Laura on this journey.”
Tom Filer, chief executive of Family Adventures Group, added: “We’re proud of the growth we have been able to achieve since starting in 2019, creating high-quality childcare and leisure venues. The whole team is delighted to have investment from Foresight into our company to allow us to turbocharge our growth.
“From the moment we met with their team, we knew they were the perfect partner due to the shared values we have around ESG and growing with purpose. We couldn’t be more delighted to be working with Foresight Group.”
Legal advice was provided to Family Adventures Group by Michelmores.
