Leicestershire based Swingboat Nursery Group sold to Storal Learning

The three sites, Ashby, which is rated ‘Good by Ofsted, Hermitage and Woodville day nurseries, which are rated ‘Outstanding’, offer a combined operating capacity of 240 children, in addition to a number of out of school facilities. 

Swingboat Nursery Group had been under the same family ownership of Elaine and Graham Blunt since 1996, firmly establishing themselves as leading childcare providers in the local area in that time. Having opened their first nursery in 1996, followed by two further settings in 1999 and 2001, Elaine and Graham have successfully operated and expanded the group and decided now was the right time to sell to concentrate on a new project in the spa sector, after finding the right buyer. 

They comment, “Swingboat Nurseries has been our “life” for so long that having taken the difficult decision to retire, we were looking for a professional and reflective provider to ensure the business was in safe hands. We are delighted to pass the baton to Storal Learning who, we believe, will ensure the quality will further develop and grow in the future, to the benefit of the children, staff and parents. We would like to thank Christie & Co for all their help in identifying a buyer and achieving this sale.”

“From the outset our objective was to provide the very best service working together with our parents, alongside striving to build staff teams who also had a passion for providing the very best childcare and early years education. During the past 22 years we have had the pleasure and privilege of building a very successful and outstandingly high-quality group of day nurseries and before and after school clubs. There was never going to be a good time to leave a business that you have seen grow and develop over such a long period of time, but we have excellent management and staff teams who will ensure the future success and viability of the nurseries and clubs.”

The nurseries have been acquired by Storal Learning, a fast growing, nationwide childcare provider who have been actively acquiring across the country over the last few years. The addition of the Swingboat Nursery sites brings the group’s portfolio of settings up to 14. Ash Grover, Director at Storal Learning comments, “We are very excited to be a part of Swingboat’s future and look forward to working with the fantastic managers and dedicated staff to continue providing the highest quality of childcare and education to children across Leicestershire and Derbyshire. Many thanks to Nick Brown at Christie’s for introducing us to Elaine and Graham, for recognising the strong fit in ethos between Swingboat and Storal, and for his professionalism in ensuring a smooth process.”  

Nick Brown, Head of Brokerage – Childcare at Christie & Co, who handled the sale comments, “It has been a pleasure dealing with parties from both sides in this transaction. There is little doubt that this was a big decision for both Graham and Elaine to retire from the industry but knowing that their business is in safe hands has made this decision much easier. I would like to also thank Ash and Varun at Storal Learning for the professional manner in which they completed this transaction and I am confident that Swingboat will be a fantastic addition to their growing group.”