Shropshire firm comes to rescue to help save nursery from closure
A company based in Telford and Shrewsbury has come to the rescue of an award-winning children’s nursery which faced closure when the pandemic struck.
Best Friends Day Nursery, in Chester, had a bleak future when its landlord gave it notice to quit and Covid stopped it from finding a new home.
But the nursery is now back up to 14 staff and 52 children and has been shortlisted for the Cheshire High Sheriff’s Family Business Award thanks to a Shropshire firm.
Owners Julie and Cliff Davies said the timely intervention of Q Financial Services with helping to keep the business going.
David Wells, partner of commercial finance at Q, used his expertise to find the pair a loan to keep the business afloat during the turmoil.
He said: “It is heartbreaking when good businesses stop trading for the want of a little short-term support.
"I’m delighted that we were able to help Julie and Cliff find the loan they needed to keep going while the axe was hanging over them, and it’s great that they are now going from strength to strength again.
“There are a lot of options for businesses who might be going through a difficult patch, but they can be difficult to access without help. Good financial advice is essential – and it could save your business.”
Julie said: “We had 18 months to find somewhere but then Covid came. Although we stayed open for critical workers, we couldn’t go out to look for new premises. We were let down so many times at the last minute.
“We had 24 staff and 100 families, but as the months went on and we could not offer certainty to parents or staff, we lost numbers and income. David from Q came to our rescue and secured a loan, giving us one year’s breathing space.
“We were eventually down to eight children and eight staff. It was heartbreaking as we tried so hard to keep going. We gave the eight staff notice and two weeks later the building we are in came up.”
Julie said it had not all been plain sailing since the move, as investment had to be made to upgrade the new building just as the cost of living crisis hit, forcing many parents to cut the number of days their children attended and considerably increasing utility bills.
Despite a very tough year though, the nursery, which is rated outstanding by Ofsted, is now back up to 52 children and 14 staff.
