As the nights draw in and winter is well and truly upon us, it is the season of new beginnings for Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries, with three new sites in Horsham, Sevenoaks and Stevenage. Here, David Hancock, Executive Chairman for Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries, shares the news of the brand’s latest openings.
Monkey Puzzle Horsham, a brand-new setting run by our new franchisees, Bhabani and Sampa Sahoo, opened to the public in September. The husband-and-wife duo have always dreamed of opening their own nursery. For Bhabani, “It was the perfect time. We looked into running our own nursery to start with, but our research showed we needed the backing of a franchise – Monkey Puzzle was our standout option.”
The Horsham setting has been specifically designed with the needs of the children and their staff in mind. “We are truly delighted to be opening Monkey Puzzle Horsham,” added Bhabani. “We can’t wait for the setting to go from strength to strength, being at the heart of our local community – it really is a dream come true!”
Our next setting to open was Monkey Puzzle Sevenoaks. For Arlind Marku, Monkey Puzzle Sevenoaks is the sixth setting in his portfolio, first becoming a franchisee in 2015. The site in Sevenoaks has been open for nearly two months, and the launch of the setting in late September welcomed key figures in the local community including the chair of Sevenoaks local council.
For Alice Riches, the nursery’s Deputy Manager, who arranged the celebration, “The launch event allowed us to introduce ourselves to the local community. We were so excited to show the new nursery off to local families – it was such a fantastic day!”
“Our parents have loved the setting so far and we can’t wait to welcome more children over the coming months,” added Arlind. “We also want to continue to develop our relationship with the local community, building on the feedback we receive from parents and the children.”
Looking to later in the year, Natasha Moniz is preparing to open her second setting in Stevenage. Natasha has two decades of experience in early years after working as a practitioner and then a deputy manager for other large nursery brands before investing in her first Monkey Puzzle setting in 2019. “I always wanted to run my own nursery. Once me and partner, Anson, had the resources, we looked at a range of nursery franchises but as soon as we spoke to Monkey Puzzle our minds were made up!”
“Monkey Puzzle were amazing throughout the whole process and have been there every step of the way. With five years of experience being a franchisee under my belt, the logical next step was to open a second nursery. Again, Monkey Puzzle have been so supportive – it’s been an amazing journey so far!”
With Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries Stevenage scheduled to open in December, it’ll mark a hat-trick of openings this winter.
I’ve loved seeing the enthusiasm of our new franchisees and the continued commitment to excellence of our existing franchisees, Arlind and Natasha – it’s been a thrilling few months. As demand continues to increase for a quality early years education option, it is fantastic to see we continue to expand our services. We’re proud to see our existing franchisees adding new settings to their portfolios, while new franchisees, like Bhabani, have joined our network, and I’m proud to see how these settings are positively impacting their local communities. We’re well on our way to achieving our goal of providing exceptional early years education across the UK.
