Henry Shinners, one of the joint administrators from the firm Smith and Williamson, confirmed that as of last week, 13 sites were sold as going concerns.
The Creative Education Corporation, which owns Primary Steps, went into administration in August (News, 8 November).
New owners include Pat Way, who stepped in to buy the group's Hemel Hempstead nursery, which her two-year-old granddaughter attends.
'I got a call from my daughter that the nursery was closing with one week's notice. It was a shock for the parents with little time to make childcare arrangements, and staff would be out of a job.'
She added, 'I had some money to invest and I was looking at childcare and this opportunity came up.'
Now an IT consultant in the financial sector, Ms Way set up a nursery in Jordan where she lived when her children were young. 'I'm now looking to create a small cluster of nurseries near each other so that I can offer staff development opportunities,' she said.
The 24-place nursery has 56 per cent occupancy, but Ms Way said she plans to turn it around with investment and marketing. She has renamed it Smiles Nursery. 'We're building it up into a bright and sunny place,' she said.
Emma Tennant, who owns the Teepee Nursery in Bracknell with her sister, has bought the Reading site, now called the Wigwam. She told Nursery World, 'It's a fantastic opportunity to grow our business. We plan to expand to 40 places.'
The nursery is now registered to take babies under one and the four-storey Victorian townhouse premises will be re-designed.
Nicky Butler, co-owner of the Jigsaw Nursery School in Hatch End, has bought the 38-place setting in Pinner for children aged two to five. She said, 'We know the staff and nursery very well, that's why we bought it. There's a big waiting list.' Both Jigsaw nurseries are open for 38 weeks in term-time only.
The buyer of the Peterborough nursery, Mr Mohammed Younis, owns the nearby 95-place Little Stars Day Nursery and said he wanted to expand the business.
'We have a waiting list at our first nursery. The Primary Steps nursery is only a few minutes walk away, so it's very convenient,' he said.
Renamed Bright Stars Day Nursery, it is to be refurbished next year.
