Nursery set to grow with £500,000 loan

HUSBAND-and-wife team Iain and Niki Hendry-Adams have secured more than £500,000 from Clydesdale Bank to buy the building that houses their nursery and expand the business.

Buying Bonnington House, in the Trinity area of Edinburgh, has allowed the couple to increase the number of places at the nursery by 20 per cent to just under 100.

Niki spent 18 years as a teacher before gaining a Masters degree in psychology of education.

Niki said: “I’ve always wanted to open my own nursery. Clydesdale Bank was incredibly supportive, offering us useful advice.

“Securing the premises has already allowed us to expand our services and increase the number of children for whom we care. It will also give us greater flexibility over the site in the future, allowing us to adapt it to the needs of the business.”

Billy MacLeod, head of business development for Clydesdale Bank in the east of Scotland, said: “Bonnington House Nursery is a flourishing young business. To be almost full less than a year after launching the nursery is a remarkable achievement.”

News of the investment comes as Clydesdale Bank unveiled its Growing Business package using cash borrowed from the Funding for Lending scheme, which is run by the Treasury and Bank of England.

The package, which is aimed at businesses that turn over less than £2 million, includes fee-free lending and free day-to-day banking.