This month, the 3rd NMT Estate, Acquisition & Expansion forum took place at Epsom Downs Racecourse.

This event followed the formula of our highly successful Nursery Agenda Events but is specifically targeted by invitation only to owners and directors of nursery groups nationwide who are looking to add to/expand/extend their nursery portfolio and would like to meet buying agents, banks, investors, advisors, extension specialists, refurbishment companies, architects as well as insurance brokers.

Set out in a spacious business room, suppliers were able to meet and talk face-to-face with nursery providers to see if they could do business together. The meetings last for fifteen minutes before the nursery moves to another supplier. The quick timings mean that both providers and suppliers get straight down to business. However, during the day there were plenty of breaks for anyone to continue a conversation or catch up with a colleague.

The event was sponsored by TG Escapes and Matt Gill welcomed everyone into the main room as the day began.

The event then kicked off with a keynote speech from Arun Kanwar, partner at Cairneagle. He highlighted the challenges that the sector has faced over the last 18 months and what is to be expected going forward.

There’s no denying that the nursery sector suffered significantly due to Covid-19 and recovery has had its ups and downs.

Occupancy, overall seems to have recovered with most nurseries reporting stable numbers. The government support packages helped the sector through the lockdowns but more is needed to see it remain sustainable.

Although there have been permanent closures, the sector is still a very attractive one to investors and market activity in 2021 has sped up.

Demand continues across the sector but has shifted towards residential areas as more people moved outside of London. Now that a hybrid way of working has become the norm, the sector’s demand will have a different focus in these areas and less so in traditional workplace and commuter settings.

Concluding, Arun stated that the sector still has the same historical issues to deal with such as funding and recruitment. However, it’s a very active market and competition is heating up with brand awareness and technology becoming more important to attract new parents.

After the keynote, everyone began the first set of pre-arranged meetings and discussions.

The venue had beautiful views and big, open rooms that the guests enjoyed over the lunch buffet. After the last set of meetings, everyone joined together for a hot topics Q&A where we discussed the key trends across the sector.

Stuart Blair, director, debt finance at OakNorth Bank started off the discussion. OakNorth Bank has worked on several high profile cases and sets themselves apart from the typical high street bank with an emphasis on technology and creating a partnership between the client and the OakNorth team.

‘We are all about finding good management teams and the nursery sector remains one of our key focuses and we are delighted to speak to new businesses.’

Stuart added:

‘The sector still remains very attractive and I think there is going to be a lot more consolidation in the space. Also, there will be more opportunities for smaller operators with one or two settings. This could be a good time to look at expanding for a third or fourth setting.

‘In terms of the debt side the sector is still  an attractive one that we at OakNorth are interested in.’

Both Christie & Co and Gerald Eve agreed that the sector is buoyant. Market appetite is increasing from a wide range of buyers across settings and there is a stronger interest in rural, outer-city settings as more people and businesses take a hybrid approach to work.

After the discussion, guests enjoyed a cheese and drinks reception with more networking and talks between friends and colleagues. Many thanks to Gerald Eve who sponsored the cheese and Cairneagle who sponsored the drinks.

A raffle took place during the reception with plenty of prizes up for grabs. Another thanks to Chrstie & Co, Community Playthings and Gerald Eve for providing the gifts.

An extremely successful and productive day and we can’t wait to see more of you again, Our next event is our NMT Agenda North which is returning to Manchester on 14 October at the Marriott Worsley Park.

For anymore information, please contact [email protected]