Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has announced the sale of Happy Days Nursery in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Happy Days Nursery is a leasehold nursery operating from a large, converted setting in Wakefield. Running for 25 years, the setting has established an excellent reputation in the local area for providing day care as well as a successful before and after school provision for children aged 0-11 years.

Previously family-owned, the nursery was brought to market as a retirement sale.

The business has been purchased by The Little Sports Group (LSG) the parent company for an established primary education business, LSC.  Founded in 2006, LSC provides permanent subject specialist staff for primary schools across the UK. Supporting subjects such as PE, Music, Drama, Spanish and more, as well as offering out-of-school childcare through high-quality breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs.

Having now established its footing in early years, Happy Days is LSG’s latest acquisition, taking the group to a total of seven settings across the Midlands and North of England, providing over 400 childcare places.

Previous owner, Soheir Ishak, said:

“Having made the decision to retire and spend some quality time with my grandchildren and family, I wanted to pass the baton on to a passionate team, who I know will continue ensuring that the children at our setting have the best possible care. I was keen to find someone with similar values to take over our family business which I started with my husband and nurtured for 25 years. I know that Craig, Rebecca and the team at LSG will do a fantastic job of caring for the children and developing the business further to enhance all that is already in place.”

Craig Brennan, chief exec of LSG, commented:

“Having operated and built successful businesses within the early years, primary education and out-of-school childcare sectors over the last 15 years, we knew moving in to ‘full day care’ would be the next natural step for us. We have been very focused on building the nursery business over the last six months and are extremely proud of the progress we have made to date. We have already completed on a number of acquisitions and put a fantastic senior management team in place. Happy Days ticked all the boxes for us, ‘great people, great spaces, great community’ and so we are hugely excited to welcome Amy (the manager) and the rest of the team to the group. We have plans to update the setting both internally and externally and make great use of the fantastic outdoor space we have there.”

Vicky Marsland, senior business agent at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, added:

“It’s been a pleasure working with both parties, and I’m very pleased to have facilitated the sale, allowing our clients to take a well-deserved retirement after over 20 years in the sector. Having originally spoken with LSG when they were considering their expansion into early years, it’s satisfying to see them grow and I certainly look forward to working with them again in the future.

“Buyer demand is stronger than ever in the sector and, as more and more businesses bounce back to pre-COVID levels, we are seeing many operators resume their exit strategies after holding off on decision making over the past year.”

Legal advice for the sellers was provided by Jeffrey Myers at Levi Solicitors LLP.

Happy Days Nursery was sold for an undisclosed sum.