Day nursery premises and four-bed home has £1.6m asking price in Upper Basildon

A premises housing a day nursery for almost 20 years is now up for sale.

Owner Eve Loisel closed the nursery in July after deciding to relocate. She has instructed Abacus Day Nursery to market the former Apricot Day Nursery – and adjoining four-bedroom home – with an asking price of £1.6m to take over the freehold.

The nursery, located on Pangbourne Road in Upper Basildon, consists of two main playrooms and a conservatory, with a large outdoor play area and a separate enclosed garden for younger children.

Apricot Day Nursery provided 28 full-time childcare places and enrolled 37 babies, toddlers and pre-school children. The nursery employed eight staff and was rated 'good' by Ofsted. It turned over £295,000 in its last full financial year, achieving a pre-tax profit of almost £90,000.

According to the vendor, the ground floor of the residential property also has potential to be converted to provide additional childcare spaces.

Sales director for Abacus Day Nursery Joanne Booth said: "Apricot Day Nursery was a well-established nursery and the demand for a high-quality childcare provider in the local area is evident from its many years of successful trading.

"Now our client has chosen to move on it presents a great opportunity for a new owner to come in and establish their own business.

"An added attraction is that the plot includes a substantial detached family home, meaning a childcare entrepreneur could relocate to a beautiful part of the world and have their new business literally on their doorstep.

"Alternatively, the house could be used to provide manager's accommodation if an investor wished to run the business at arm's length, or they could even convert the ground floor of the house to expand the business."

Ms Loisel founded the business, initially operating as a childminder, in 2003, and it became a fully-fledged day nursery by 2007.