For those nurseries which have identified the free entitlement for two-year-olds as a business opportunity, expansion could be on the cards.
By September 2014, the sector will need to deliver around 260,000 places to meet the Government's expanded offer for two-year-olds and with this in mind many settings are currently weighing up the viability of expanding or adapting their sites to meet demand.
While the economic climate has made it tough for businesses to gain funding to expand and equip, there have recently been some encouraging moves to free up credit. Earlier in the year the Government launched its National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS) which offers a 1.0 per cent discount on interest rates, while commercial finance broker Christie + Co released a £50m tranche of funding, targeting nurseries among other sectors. Some providers are also taking advantage of the less-publicised cash-back element of the NLGS. Christie Finance points out that a £1m loan, for example, would qualify for a cash-back lump sum of £50,000 upon draw-down of the loan.
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