The YMCA’s 45 place setting in St Vincent’s College, Gosport, Hampshire is the latest sale to complete. It has been bought by Vicky Morey, who also runs Rosie Little Blessing Nurseries in the area.
The charity took the decision to close and sell the premises earlier this year amid concerns around a lack of Government funding to meet running costs.
The property advisor involved in the sales, Christie & Co, confirmed that five YMCA sites in the south of England have now been sold to other providers.
Christie & Co director Nick Brown said that the property firm is 'always in discussion with a number of the larger day nursery groups who, while working on their growth strategy, are looking to sell specific sites within their portfolios that no longer trade efficiently.
'Another reason they might be selling is if, as part of a larger acquisition, there are settings which don’t fit their strategy and so they may look to sell these individual nurseries', added Brown.
'As with the YMCA sales, these settings provide ideal add-ons for existing local operators where the continuation of childcare has been saved and will grow under new ownership.'
'Early years providers are buckling under the strain of underfunding.'
In February, the YMCA announced that four of its nurseries were to close and warned that more could follow due to underfunding leaving early years providers 'buckling under the strain'.
It said that the latest funding rates do not consider high inflation and there is now a 7 per cent shortfall between the rate paid for three-and-four-year-olds and rising costs over the same period. For two-year-olds the shortfall is 6 per cent.
YMCA’s Nursery Warren Park, Pre School Dunsbury Way and Nursery Sharps Copse sites in Havant, Hampshire were purchased earlier this year by Girls & Boys Nurseries. Meanwhile, its Nursery Townhill Early Years site in Southampton was bought by a local school provider.
Jim Hooper the charity’s Fairthorne Manor community director said at the time that it is “really vital for the local community and families that alternative providers have been found for these early years settings”.
YMCA operates around 80 early years settings in England, providing 4,500 childcare places, with many in areas of deprivation.
Mama Bear's restructures
Another nursery group that has sold sites recently amid financial issues is Mama Bear’s. It sold nine of its nurseries in Bristol to allow it to restructure its finances post-Covid.
The nurseries were sold to Grandir UK, which owns Kiddi Caru. Following the deal Mama Bear’s runs 15 nurseries across Bristol, Somerset and Devon.