Nursery group set for rapid expansion

Gingerbread Pre-Schools has received private equity funding from Downing LLP to open ten nurseries in the North West of England and North Wales, employing around 200 nursery staff.

Chief executive Stephen Collins told Nursery World, ‘My ambition is to be in the top 25 in the next four years in terms of quality and size.’

The group, which currently has two nurseries in the Crosby and Fazakerley areas of Liverpool, was set up in 2000 by Mr Collins and his wife Yvonne Collins, who is the company’s director of operations. Both nurseries have been graded good by Ofsted in the last 12 months.

Gingerbread’s third nursery Greenbank Park Pre-School, housed in a former convent, will open in the autumn in Mossley Hill, Liverpool.

The building is currently being refurbished and when finished will offer a 100-place nursery, a 50-place out-of-school club and a holiday club.

Once this nursery is completed, work will start on the fourth Liverpool site, which will open early next year and will be called Gingerbread Academy.

While Mr Collins said that all four nurseries had been ‘started from scratch’, he said that Gingerbread was also interested in the ‘acquisition of well-run and well-established centres’, as well as the ‘development of sites for purpose-built nurseries and refurbishing existing properties.’

He aims to expand the group by opening settings offering around 80-100 childcare places in sites that offer large outdoor areas.

Mr Collins said, ‘One of our USPs is that we open all our nurseries from 7am to 6pm,’ and added that the latest technology is also installed at Gingerbread sites.

‘We also have biometric entry systems and a secure online internet viewing system for parents, which can now be accessed from parents’ smart phones.’

As part of what Mr Collins called ‘substantial’ investment, Downing’s Paul Beaumont will become a director of Gingerbread Pre-Schools Group.

Mr Beaumont said, ‘Downing has a history of backing strong management teams and we are excited to be involved with this business. We have spent some time looking at the way they operate and have been attracted by the enthusiasm, commitment and professionalism of the people within the business. We are very confident that we can provide the financial support to take the business to the next level.’

Further information
www.gingerbreadpreschools.com