£750,000 boost for Midland nursery group

A NURSERY group has secured a new round of funding which will enable it to renovate its properties and invest in the business.

Birmingham-based Bright Minds Daycare has agreed a £750,000 debt finance deal with Manchesterbased OakNorth Bank.

Launched in 2017, Bright Minds Daycare owns four nurseries in the city with capacity for 330 children ranging from infants to pre-school ages. This new funding will be used to support refurbishment and working capital requirements as well as purchase new equipment.

Bright Minds Daycare was cofounded by Birmingham-based entrepreneurs Taj Heer and Talon Golding and is backed by Guinness Asset Management.

Mr Heer said: “With OakNorth’s support, we’ll be able to continue expanding while ensuring that our two new sites meet the high-quality standards set by our first two nurseries.”

Mohith Sondhi, senior debt finance director at OakNorth Bank, added: “We see a huge amount of opportunity in the Midlands.

“It is home to thousands of brilliant businesses like Bright Minds Daycare so, with our newly opened Birmingham office and our two new team members there, we are excited to help even more businesses in the region achieve their growth ambitions.

“Current occupancy rates for nurseries in Birmingham average 75 percent but it is the youngest city of any major city in Europe so we expect to see demand grow significantly in the future.

“Bright Minds Daycare is in a prime position to take advantage of this.”