Following an initial loan in late 2023, we were pleased to extend further debt facilities to Storal, one of the largest privately-owned children’s nursery groups in England. Alongside equity from Graphite Capital, the lead sponsor, the investment will support Storal’s acquisition of Children 1st Day Nurseries, a well-respected nursery group with 23 nurseries across the Midlands and South Yorkshire. Stuart Blair, Debt Finance Director at OakNorth, commented: “Since its founding in 1988 by Margaret Mason, Children 1st has grown into a renowned nursery group and training centre. Margaret has been a true leader in the sector for over three decades with an outstanding dedication to raising the standards of early years education. Its values and approach are clearly aligned with that of Storal, and this transformative acquisition creates a top 10 nursery group which we are incredibly proud to be supporting. Sarah has built Storal into one of the UK’s highest-quality nursery operators, so we were delighted that Graphite, and the management team once again chose to work with us.” Read the full press release now: https://lnkd.in/eNb9vRx2
