The nursery chain has doubled in size this year and now owns or manages eight settings in the north-west of England (including Penrith), after taking on the running of three children's centre nurseries in Crewe in June, and on 1 November acquiring a nursery in a children's centre in Swinton, Yorkshire.
New owner Simon Rigby was a previous investor in the business and bought Safehands Network and Safehands Greenstart, a £5m integrated care business, earlier this month.
In addition to the nurseries, there are eight holiday clubs - two of which gained outstanding grades this year - two after-school and breakfast clubs, a babysitting and creche service, and a respite hotel for disabled children and adults in Blackpool.
The company has strong green credentials. Mr Rigby also runs Farmgen, a leading renewable electricity company. Solar panels are currently being installed at all of his group's nurseries.
Mr Rigby told Nursery World, 'It's important that children grow up learning about sustainability. We're also very keen on children understanding where food comes from, and all our nurseries grow their own vegetables.'
He expects the group to expand, developing further freeholds.
'Safehands is in a great sector, going through a lot of change, but the fundamentals don't change. I see it as a sector that is resilient to economic uncertainty. Every sector is going to be challenged but people need childcare.'
