Supporting children’s day nurseries every step of the way, with expert advice tailored to you.

How can we help?

For business owners in the early years sector we are always on hand to discuss and support your objectives.

Whatever stage your day nursery business is at, and no matter the size, we can help you achieve your goals; from single site operators through to acquisitive groups, our experts are ready to get your questions answered.

Am I paying too much tax?

We can design and help you to implement a tax efficient structure for your children's day nursery business to ensure you are not paying more tax than you should. Amongst other services, we can also work with you to implement relatively low cost and simple changes to your current remuneration plan which can have a positive impact on current staff, as well as being attractive to potential employees.

This is particularly important now given the recruitment and retention challenges seen across the sector.

How does my business measure up?

We have access to detailed benchmarking data that we will have collated as part of our audit work, enabling us to compare your key performance indicators to other operators.

Can you help with my nursery accounts?

Our specialist accountants can support with both statutory and management accounts for nursery businesses. For smaller nurseries, we can also help with online accounting software, submission of VAT returns, monthly payroll processing and much more, freeing up your time so you can focus on the running of your business.

How do I grow my nursery business?

Owning and managing a children's day nursery is a fast-paced role and it is easy to be so focused on running the day to day operations that you do not stop and think about the future. Our team will work with you to create a business strategy that sets out the goals you want to achieve, and the individual objectives which will help you reach them.

Two common ways for nurseries to grow is through acquisition of an existing nursery, or the acquisition of a property to develop into a nursery. Our team can help with raising finance for either option utilising their network of contacts in the industry who have a real interest in early years development.

Our team of Corporate Finance experts can guide you through the acquisition process, carrying out financial and tax due diligence as well as renewing the legal documentation to ensure you get appropriate protection from any legal liabilities.

Is now the right time to sell my nursery?

Knowing whether it is the right time to sell a children's day nursery can involve a wide range of factors.

Knowledge of the early years sector is vital in order to assess whether it is the right time to sell in terms of maximising value. Our experience and working with businesses in the sector every day means our knowledge is up to date and relevant to your business.

Preparing for the sale of a children's nursery ideally takes place around two years in advance of the target sale date in order to ensure structures and processes are appropriate to maximise the return, although many can achieve a sale in much shorter timescales.

How much is my business worth and how can I maximise its value?

When valuing a children's nursery, advisers generally look at:

Historical forecast trading performance - cash flow, turnover and profitability;
Recent deals in sector (benchmarking);
Risk and the market/economic conditions; and
Freehold vs leasehold property.

As advisers for children's day nurseries, we can help to get your business in optimal condition to prepare for sale and make the business attractive to potential buyers. Elements we will help you to consider include:

Presenting the optimal financial position;
Considering restructuring to make the business more tax efficient;
Working to make yourself dispensable by building a solid management team and developing your successor/second tier management; and
Having robust systems and processes in place will assist with integration.

Can I extract some value now without a full exit?

There are ways in which you can extract some value now without needing to sell the whole business. Our Corporate Finance experts are on hand to discuss tailored options available to your individual needs.

Can I, or should I, borrow more money?

Investor appetite remains high in the early years sector, despite current economic uncertainties and increasing costs of borrowing. We have a large network of contacts with mid market banks who we can introduce you to to discuss your requirements further.

Is your business as financially secure as it can be?

Get confident with effective key performance indicators (KPIs) - understand the importance of them and discover some useful insights in our free presentation.

Find out more

How have we helped?

Foillowing the successful sale of Playaway Day Nurseries to Family First Day Nurseries, it was great to hear from Vanessa Kellow, Owner of Playaway, who is enjoying post-sale life, on how we supported her throughout the sale process from preparation through to completion.

“We were delighted with the professional and confident service provided by Hazlewoods throughout the sale of our company. Rob and the team really were exceptional from start to finish and we always had great confidence in their advice when negotiations became complex.

Hazlewoods genuinely care about their clients and were incredibly attentive and responsive to the changing requirements of our sale. We will always be hugely appreciative for all their hard work and commitment in working with us through every stage and ultimately completing the deal.”

- Vanessa Kellow

Supporting Stables Daycare: A case study

We have worked with Caroline Johnson, MD and Founder of Stables Daycare, for a number of years and have watched her business go from strength to strength. We caught up with Caroline and Hazlewoods Partner, Rachael Anstee, to find out more.

"When you mention 'HMRC' to me, my mind goes to mush and it's really mind-boggling. But I am, and always will be, cautious with my accounts – they must be done properly.

I needed an adviser who understood the nature of my business, not someone who was just going to look at the figures and that's it, as there are many variables that come along due to the market. Rachael and I have built up a great relationship over the years..."

Read the full interview here

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Thursday 8 February 2024

Following the Nursery Business World Summit 2024, we share our top 5 takeaways.

Healthcare update: Education Summit review - Top 5 takeaways for the early years sector

Friday 17 November 2023

Following the Education Summit 2023, we share our top 5 takeaways of what's currently being discussed in the early years sector.

First steps for the early years sector: Navigating the Budget’s childcare reforms

Monday 15 May 2023

Almost two months on from the Budget announcement, our Day Nurseries team recap what the childcare reforms were together with the initial responses we are hearing from discussions with our clients and other operators.