New owner for Kent day nursery

Springles Nursery in West Kingsdown was bought for an undisclosed sum by Them Fields Ltd after securing funding from Clydesdale Bank.

Them Fields, through director Ms Thembi Ndlovu, was advised by law firm RWK Goodman which assisted her throughout the corporate and property negotiations.

Ed Chapman, a solicitor in RWK Goodman's Corporate team, commented: "As this was Thembi's first acquisition, we were able to use our expertise to provide guidance throughout the process, from advising on the main business purchase agreement and the property acquisition through to employment matters."

He added: "The childcare market is particularly buoyant at the moment and we are seeing increasing interest from buyers and sellers in this fast-growing part of the economy. It is also encouraging to see banks are continuing to support SMEs with strong business proposals. "

Thembi Ndlovu said: "The team at RWK Goodman put in a huge amount of effort to enable this transaction to happen. The support and guidance I received has been exceptional and I’m now looking forward to getting on with the important job of developing the nursery for the benefit of families in the area."

Thembi continued: "Since opening almost 15 years ago Springles has earned itself a fantastic reputation in the Sevenoaks area for providing first class nursery and pre-school services.

"In that time it has consistently scored a ‘good’ Ofsted rating and I intend to continue its work by developing the business as I look to take the nursery to the next level."

As the acquisition included the purchase of both the business and the property in which it is based, Them Fields required support from RWK Goodman’s property team, working alongside their corporate experts. Andrew Johnson led on the property aspects.

Springles was marketed by business sales agents Christie & Co while the former owners were advised by HRC Law, Manchester.