Popular Peebles day nursery sold for the first time since 2000
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has announced the sale of Kingsmeadows Nursery in the town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders.
Kingsmeadows Nursery is a well-established and highly regarded children’s day nursery and out of school care facility which has capacity for up to 94 children aged from birth to 14 years. Established in 2000 by Mary-Jane Parker, it was the first purpose-built setting of its kind in the Scottish Borders.
Following a confidential sales process with Christie & Co, it has been purchased by Bright Stars which now owns 87 settings in the UK, 16 of which are in Scotland.
Mary-Jane Parker, previous owner of Kingsmeadows Nursery, comments, “I started planning for the nursery in 1998, eventually managing to acquire land and have the setting purpose-built, in fact it was the first purpose-built nursery to ever open in the Scottish Borders, in May 2000. We were registered for 49 children at that time, and have expanded several times to our current registration capacity of 94 children. Over the years, we had the pleasure of caring for almost 2,000 children from over 1,000 families. I decided to sell as the time felt right; we have a robust staff and management team in place; it feels as though my ‘baby’ has now come of age; so it is time for me to very carefully hand on the responsibility. It has been an incredibly difficult decision for me, as I care so passionately about Kingsmeadows, however I am excited for the future as I believe the opportunities for the setting which arise as being part of the Bright Stars group will build even further on what I have managed to establish during my time in charge. I wish all of the staff and customers the very best as they move forward and I will miss everyone, most especially all of the children.”
Kirsty Ibbott, Mergers and Acquisition Director at Bright Stars, comments, “Mary-Jane has built a fantastic nursery with an exceptional team over the past 22+ years. Her commitment to outstanding childcare has been obvious throughout the sale process and evident within the nursery setting. We are pleased to have added such a well-established nursery to our Scottish region, and we look forward to working with the team, parents, and their children as we build on from the legacy of Mary-Jane whilst ensuring that, like all our nurseries, we maintain its local identity in the community.”
Martin Daw, Senior Director at Christie & Co. who handled the sale, comments, “Having worked and advised Mary-Jane for over 15 years, market conditions and the exceptional performance of the nursery meant that it was the perfect time to consider the sale of the business. This was echoed by the end result in achieving well in excess of the asking price. I wish Mary -Jane well in her next adventures.”
Kingsmeadows Nursery was sold for an undisclosed price.
For further information on this press release, contact:
Phoebe Burrows, Corporate Communications Manager
P: 07540 063 598 or E: phoebe.burrows@christie.com
Contact the agent:
Martin Daw, Senior Director
P: 07764 241 280 or E: martin.daw@christie.com
Visit Christie & Co’s Business Search page to find out more about current childcare listings.
