7/10/2017 | Childcare & Education

Kids Planet acquire Happy Day Nursery through Christie & Co

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has sold Happy Day Nursery on a freehold basis to expanding regional group operator, Kids Planet.

The impressive nursery business is located in Davenport, a residential suburb which lies on the outskirts of the town of Stockport in Greater Manchester.

The previous owner, Mrs Knowles established the family run business over 40 years ago, providing exceptional care for children aged 0 to 5, maintaining a happy, stimulating environment throughout the nursery.

The nursery operates from a purpose built, single storey property, offering 5 large play rooms and an outdoor play environment introducing a variety of learning opportunities for children.

Sofia Beck, of Christie & Co, who handled the sale, comments, “We had a long standing relationship with Mrs Knowles and over the years we kept in close contact to offer our advice and to discuss changes in the market. After a very long and successful ownership, Mrs Knowles felt that now was the right time to retire and was aware of the high level of current buyer activity in the children’s day nursery sector. As maintaining confidentiality was key, we introduced Kids Planet to this opportunity knowing that Happy Day would be a perfect fit the group. This successful pairing meant that the business was under offer and with solicitors within a week of instruction, leading to a speedy transaction from start to finish.

“We try in every case to match buyers to each new opportunity as this offers security to our vendors who are sometimes nervous to enter the sales process.”

Mrs Knowles comments, “My nursery sold very quickly without being advertised. I am extremely grateful to Sofia. She was aware that I was considering retirement and contacted me regarding a group who she felt would be very interested. Sofia was very aware of the importance of selling to a company with whom I had confidence in terms of the future of my staff and the ongoing quality of nursery care. The whole transaction was handled efficiently from the start and took only three months.
 
“My decision to retire has been made so much easier through Sofia's ability to direct me to the right buyer.”

 



Clare Robert’s of Kids Planet adds , “We are delighted to have added Happy Day Nursery to our Kids Planet family of children nurseries. We have acquired a lovely nursery in the Davenport Area of Stockport which is a credit to the work Susan Knowles and Debi Warner the Nursery Manager have invested into the nursery over the years. We look forward to working closely with Debi and the rest of the team at Happy Day over the coming months as we enhance and develop the nursery even further.”