Glasgow entrepreneurs seal kindergarten deal

One of Glasgow’s biggest private nurseries has changed hands in a seven-figure deal backed by Royal Bank of Scotland.
Nursery nurse Melissa McBride with some of the children at Victoria Park Kindergarten. Picture: Chris JamesNursery nurse Melissa McBride with some of the children at Victoria Park Kindergarten. Picture: Chris James
Nursery nurse Melissa McBride with some of the children at Victoria Park Kindergarten. Picture: Chris James

Entrepreneurs Peter Hume and Robert Burns, owners of the Sinclair Nursery in the southside of the city, have bought Victoria Park Kindergarten in the west end, creating an organisation that can support almost 250 child places and employs more than 80 people.

Hume said: “This is a deal we have been looking at for more than two years. Demand for places at our nursery in Shawlands outstrips supply and as we looked at other nurseries across the city, it is clear the same appetite exists elsewhere.

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“We felt the location of Victoria Park offered a similar catchment as Sinclair Nursery – a high volume of professional couples who need support during working hours.”

Victoria Park Kindergarten operates from a former church in Whiteinch, built in 1910. It employs 52 people and has places for 140 children.

Hume, who teamed up with Burns to take over Sinclair Nursery seven years ago, said the duo were considering further expansion due to the “buoyant” nature of the childcare market.

Kevin McCormack, relationship director with RBS’s corporate commercial team in Glasgow, said: “The purchase of Victoria Park during such a positive time for the sector in Scotland is a sensible one and we wish them every success.”