Nursery World - Nursery entrepreneur shortlisted for award

The founder of an Edinburgh nursery chain has reached the finals of a nationwide competition to celebrate the achievement of women entrepreneurs. Heather Gilchrist, who opened the first Happitots nursery in October 1996, is one of ten finalists in the first T-Mobile and Sunday Express Women Mean Business awards. She described her success as 'just unreal, unbelievable!'

Heather Gilchrist, who opened the first Happitots nursery in October 1996, is one of ten finalists in the first T-Mobile and Sunday Express Women Mean Business awards. She described her success as 'just unreal, unbelievable!'

Ms Gilchrist set up the original 54-place Happitots nursery when she needed childcare for her son Thomas. She was unimpressed by the majority of nurseries she came across and decided that she could do better. The Royal Bank of Scotland provided a loan and helped with the business plan. The rest of the 50,000 outlay came from re-mortgaging her flat and ploughing in savings -'a big decision at that stage', she said.

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