A children's day nursery that closed its doors in 2018 has been given a new lease of life after it was bought by a new owner and management team.
Daisy Chains in Flint shut suddenly two years ago with a last minute message to parents on the evening before the closure.
Now the nursery site, located on the town’s Castle Park Industrial Estate, is reopening after the lease was acquired by businessman Roy Damrell.
The deal was arranged by Abacus Day Nursery Sales, a specialist division of the business transfer specialist Blacks Business Brokers.
Now named Little Teds Nursery & Academy it is registered to provide up to 40 full-time childcare places.
Mr Damrell, who lives in nearby Buckley, has spent the past ten years working as a business improvement consultant, a role that involves irregular hours and considerable travel.
He decided to establish a childcare business, primarily, to enable him to spend more time at home with his family.
“I love being a dad,” he said. “I also wanted to do something that enabled me to give something back to the local community, and what better way to do that than to provide good quality childcare that gives local children the best start in life?”
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Mr Damrell has recruited a long-term acquaintance, Sally Bumford, as nursery manager. The nursery, which is in the process of being refurbished throughout, currently employs five staff and will look after kids from nine months to pre-school.
Mr Damrell and Ms Bumford have ambitious plans for the building, including converting one room into a giant sandpit and turning another into a dedicated dance and movement space. When the refurbishment is complete later this year Little Teds Nursery & Academy will have space, potentially, to apply for registration to provide up to 85 childcare places.
Once it is operating at full capacity Mr Damrell intends Little Teds Nursery & Academy in Flint to be the first in a group of childcare settings that he hopes to establish. His role in the nursery is mainly to focus on the business element of the operation and he has investors in place who would back him to expand to new sites.
Chelsea Melnyk, sales negotiator at Abacus Day Nursery Sales, said, “It is fantastic to see what the new team have done since taking over. It’s a great result for them, for our client, and for the local parents who now have a fabulous new childcare option on their doorsteps.
“We are increasingly seeing people like Mr Damrell coming into the market, which is really encouraging. He has a passion for childcare but also a really strong business background and commercial understanding, and I am sure that Little Teds, and any further nurseries he may go on to open in future, will be a great success.”
Little Teds Nursery & Academy is planning a number of open days for parents and children during March and April.