New business owners often underestimate the importance of selecting the right property to bring success to their long-term plans. With plenty of other tasks at hand, the significance of location tends to be overlooked. But why is finding the right property so central to the success of a bricks-and mortar business? Sophie Hailey, our Acquisition Manager, talks us through what you need to look for when sourcing the perfect property.

At Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries, we’ve invested in a dedicated team of property experts who go the extra mile to choose prime real estate for our franchised nursery settings. In this blog, I’ll be sharing some insights into what makes a property perfect for the needs of early years education.

Catering to growing demand

This year, the UK government announced plans to provide up to 30 hours of free childcare for three and four-year olds each week. The reforms will expand to all eligible children from nine months to five years-old by 2025¹. Data from the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) show that there are nearly 27,000 providers of childcare on non-domestic premises – nurseries, pre-schools and other group settings – and so the demand for places will only grow².

With more children about to enter the system, we need to be ready to give them all the space they need to learn and grow. At Monkey Puzzle, we’re gearing up to meet this demand, opening a minimum of 30 additional nurseries by 2028. As someone working in the property acquisitions team, I’m ready for a busy few years!

For those interested in the industry, whether franchisees or property developers, being in the know about finding the perfect property will put you ahead of the curve.

How does the process work?

We’re the UK’s largest nursery franchise so our process for property acquisition needs to be watertight. We begin by consulting our franchisees to understand their budgets and preferences, guiding them through the journey of finding the ideal site.

Our team consults solicitors and planners to ensure a smooth process before moving on to the building work. Once completed, the building is handed over to the franchisees and the nursery launches.

What are the common issues and queries over securing property for a nursery?

One of our most frequent enquiries from our franchisees relates to rent and building costs. We think it’s important to use our years of experience to take all the stresses of property acquisition away from our franchisees, providing all the necessary support to make the process seamless.

In terms of issues with location, knowing where to direct your research is a great place to start. We use market-leading demographic software to provide us with the latest data and detailed analysis on each location. We tend to find areas with low population levels wouldn’t be able to support our settings. Also, for long-term sustainability, we think it’s important to understand the proportion of young families and their commutability to any setting so there is a strong customer base.

Another thing to look for are nearby competitors. In a city centre location, there could be an abundance of nurseries competing against each other. We know it’s important to look at the fees of the providers too – if a number opt for vastly different payment structures to those you expect to charge, your business might struggle to get off the ground.

What would be the perfect property?

The perfect property is not confined to a single location; for example, what works in London may differ from the Midlands.

Ideally, we’d look for a property with great street frontage within a strong population. Being easily accessible either via vehicle or on foot and the site containing a single building are non-negotiables. Preferably, all rooms would be on one level, but we do have plenty of locations across two or three floors.

We also don’t dismiss rural locations. We have a number of franchisees successfully running nurseries a little off the beaten track. These sites can offer more outside space for our children and if they’re near a farm for example, it can act as a USP for the property, attracting parents and carers from further afield.

Does Ofsted have any requirements to be aware of?

The short answer is yes! We could find the best location possible but if it didn’t cater to Ofsted’s regulations then the nursery can’t be operational.

Each child requires a certain amount of space – for example, two and three-year-olds need 2.5m² per child³. Essentially, every building has a maximum capacity. So being familiar with the rules and regulations is a necessary consideration when buying the premises. Ofsted also requires access to outdoor play spaces; they don’t have to be within the property but easily accessible at the very least. I always recommend to our franchisees to take the time to read the framework for early years education provision thoroughly!

Before you launch your nursery, you need to make sure everything is in order as Ofsted will inspect to ensure it is a safe, secure and suitable premises for children.

Final thoughts

The property market is always changing. You need to be ready to keep up with all the latest technologies and regulations. We’re looking to roll out a 3D virtual property tour to help our franchisees visualise how our nurseries will look once they’re fully furnished – this service will be in place by mid-2024.

Potential franchisees or property developers need to keep an open mind. If a building becomes available that has a large capacity and outdoor space, being aware of all the requirements might open your horizons for the nursery setting. With demand growing, an early years setting could be a more than prudent purchase for your portfolios.

 

¹ BBC News, Public investment in childcare, March 2023

² Gov UK, Childcare providers and inspections survey, March 2023

³ Gov UK, Statutory framework for early years, July 2023

 

Sophie Hailey is our Acquisitions Manager at Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries. She works within the franchise team supporting the network on all property related matters.