Abacus Day Nursery

Abacus Day Nursery is run by two qualified nursery nurses, Diane Cox and Jane Taylor. They had worked together in other day nurseries for over 10 years and planned one day to open one or more of their own.

Abacus is based in Solihull, an affluent suburb close to Birmingham. It provides childcare for children aged between 6 months and school age, from 8am-6pm Monday-Friday, 50 weeks per annum. What makes Abacus different is that the nursery is based in a modular building located in the grounds of a local primary school. Abacus rent the land very cheaply from the school (who benefit from the income) and is in the process of purchasing the building through a hire purchase agreement from a national supplier. The key benefits of this type of accommodation are:

- Ready market through parents based at the school - Perception of safety and security - The school was selected by Abacus on the basis of good road links - Good transition for pre-school children

The business started in 2004 and is now registered for 95 children. Turnover has reached £30K per month. Prices are £32/day which is slightly higher than the market level, although many customers pay through the governments voucher scheme. The business employees 12 full/time qualified staff, and after the normal start-up pains of a growing business, Abacus is now profitable. In addition in September 2012 the business will complete the purchase of the Modular Building which will provide an additional £3K/month in profits.

The business has reached approximately 75% capacity, but struggles to fill Monday’s and Friday’s as the UK Childcare market now appears to require partial not full time childcare. About one third of the children will attend the local school, the remainder will typically attend other schools nearby,