Times may be tough, but for all those nurseries keeping their heads above water, there could be some comfort in the generally held view that trading conditions are unlikely to get worse.
Certainly after the credit crunch in 2008, the prediction was that nursery businesses wouldn't feel the full impact until a year or so down the line. This has proved the case, and in the last three years the sector has had to cope with the continued squeeze on lending, soaring staff and utility costs, swingeing local authority cuts and shortfalls in funding around the free entitlement.
However, market analysts Laing & Buisson testify to the market continuing to be relatively resilient. In its Children's Nurseries UK Market Report 2012, the 2011 market value represented the same in real terms as in 2007, confirming that the sector had not been as badly dented as many other service sectors. Strong growth in the under-fives population is identified as a contributing factor.
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