The former nursery had been owned and operated by Meg MacLeod of Childcare Scotland Properties since 2003 and was refurbished before it was put up for sale. It was previously registered for up to 105 children.
MacLeod said, ‘After 33 years, it was time for me to semi-retire, relax a bit, and spend more time with family. Both myself and fellow director, Yvonne McDowall, wish Mini Rainbows every success in their new venture!’
Andrew Clifford, director of nurseries at CC Nurseries, explained that the nursery group uses Mini Rainbows as the operating company for Scotland, but all the group’s nurseries in England and Scotland fall under the CC Nurseries umbrella, and are individually branded.
The group, which was established in 2016, operates nine nurseries across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Scotland. The latest nursery is the group's fifth in Scotland, joining two in Edinburgh, one in Glasgow, and one in Whitburn, West Lothian.
Clifford told Nursery World, ‘The new Merchiston Day Nursery which will occupy the former Melville House site will be the sister nursery to our longstanding and award winning The Murrayfield Nursery in West Edinburgh.
‘We are delighted to be bringing our inspiring environments and passion for early childhood provision to the local community and look forward to meeting families and new colleagues soon as we now begin our preparations in earnest to launch the new nursery from January 2023.
‘We are delighted to complete our purchase of such a wonderful period property at Melville House, and wish Meg and Yvonne all the very best for the future.’
Clifford added that they were continuing ‘to develop our family of nursery settings’ with the group's tenth nursery, The Hyde Nursery Barnet, due to open in September following a ‘stunning’ restoration of the iconic Hyde Institute building in High Barnet (right).
The iconic building, which was gifted to the people of Barnet by Julia Hyde in 1888, to serve as a public library and reading rooms, has been repurposed to become a 100-place nursery.
Clifford also said that the group has ‘additional acquisition projects under due diligence for completion in Autumn 2022.’
