Nursery chain director goes it alone
Katy Morton
Friday, June 1, 2012
The former operations director of a Scottish nursery chain has bought her own nursery.
Lyndsay Grant, who previously worked as operations director for the Bertram nursery group of 33 settings, and her husband Stephen, have purchased the Edinburgh Montessori Nursery. The couple plan to re-brand the setting under the new name of Little Learners.
The acquisition of the nursery was backed by funding from bank Santander.
Graded as having elements of good and very good by the Care Inspectorate under the previous owners, the nursery is registered for 59 children and employs 12 members of staff, who will continue to work at the setting.
The nursery will have to be re-inspected by the Care Inspectorate under the new name.
Since acquiring the nursery a fortnight ago, the husband and wife team have undertaken a deep clean of the setting and spent thousands of pounds on new equipment.
They also hope to increase the nursery’s occupancy, currently at 60 per cent capacity.
Ms Grant, who will manage the setting, said, ‘Owning a nursery is something I have always wanted to do. The nursery ticked all the boxes. It has fantastic potential, there is scope for growth and it will allow me to put my own stamp on it.’
She explained that Bertram’s chief executive, Graeme Scott, had been very supportive and pointed out the nursery to her, knowing that it has always been her dream to open her own setting.
The former Betram operations director said that since taking over the nursery they have received a lot of enquiries from parents and hope to continue to promote the nursery via word of mouth and marketing.
