Leading day-nurseries’ franchisor agrees deal with successful UK investment firm.
Imbiba has completed a sizeable multi-million pound investment into Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries. This £3.5m capital injection will accelerate Monkey Puzzle‘s existing strategic plan for growth, as it joins forces with an investment company that has many years of business experience in marketing, finance, property and tech.
Imbiba claims that, over the past 25 years, it has developed and supported more companies in the leisure, lifestyle and entertainment industry than any other UK investment firm. Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries is a market leader in the franchised nursery sector and one of the largest businesses of their kind in the UK.
As pioneers in the childcare sector, Monkey Puzzle was the first to franchise day nurseries, with Hertfordshire the setting for its maiden childcare outlet which opened on March 17th, 2002. For owners Mark and Rebecca Crosby, it was the beginning of a hugely successful journey into the day-nurseries industry. Monkey Puzzle can now boast of 60 sites around the country.
According to the latest market report from Laing Buisson, the UK nursery industry is now worth an estimated £6.7bn per annum, with childcare proven to be one of the most resilient and in-demand sectors of all. According to Lizzie Ryan, a partner at Imbiba, the company was attracted to Monkey Puzzle because it has demonstrated a sustainable and profitable business model.
She said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries. It is a sector that Imbiba has been monitoring for some time and we were drawn by the company’s scalable business model and high-calibre management team.
“The company has been incredibly successful at securing off-market sites in highly desirable locations. With considerable opportunities arising through new premises, following the disruption caused by Covid-19 and coupled with an increase in demand for high quality childcare provision, the landscape has never been better for a well-capitalised nursery group to grow.”
And Richard Blunden, chief executive of Monkey Puzzle, added: “I’m absolutely delighted to have secured this partnership with Imbiba. The quality of our relationship will be central to the implementation of our strategic plan. Imbiba‘s investment represents an opportunity to accelerate our vision and to inspire change through excellence in childcare.
“This decision will create a positive impact for generations to come and this partnership is great news for our people, franchisees, parents and children. We are excited to start this stage of our journey with such an accomplished investor.”
About Imbiba: Founded by lifestyle and leisure entrepreneurs, Imbiba helps to develop brands by providing support in key strategic areas, such as property, recruitment, procurement, marketing, social media and operational level finance. Unlike many investment firms, the Imbiba team are entrepreneurs who have successfully grown hospitality and leisure businesses before. They provide the necessary experience to guide other businesses as they scale.
