Member Article

£2 million renovation of listed building into a nursery creates 40 Leeds jobs

A new Leeds children’s nursery is to create up to 40 new jobs following a £2 million renovation programme of a Grade II listed building, supported by HSBC’s West Yorkshire Commercial Centre.

Tiny Tree Day Nursery opened at the beginning of August, and has 163 places for children aged up to five. Tiny Tree Day Nursery currently employs six people but that will grow to around 40 as it reaches its full quota of children.

The site at Hyde Park, dates back to the 1860s and had been in a state of disrepair for four years until Graham and Amika Abbott acquired the site last year.

This is the third site in the nursery entrepreneurs’ portfolio, with others in Oldham and Huddersfield.

After securing a £1.8 million funding package from HSBC to support the acquisition and redevelopment of the site, in a deal managed by Senior Commercial Manager Adam Kelly, the couple have spent the last eight months completely renovating the building.

The Abbotts have both lived in Leeds for the past 12 years but this is their first venture in the city.

The Leeds nursery will be managed by Jay Laycock, who has ten years’ experience in nursery management, and each member of staff will undergo a stringent training and development programme to ensure that the children will receive the best possible care.

Nursery owner Graham Abbott said: “HSBC has been a committed supporter of the project and Adam and his team recognised our ambition and goal for the nursery.

“I had been looking for a site in Leeds for a long time and had given up hope before I found Sycamore Lodge. It’s a stunning building and we believe it will offer the children a fantastic environment to learn and play.

“We have achieved outstanding grades from Ofsted at our other two nurseries and that is certainly the target with Tiny Tree.

“We put in place robust management structures at our nurseries, strong staff development programmes and policies that encourage healthy eating and living for the children, so we feel it will be popular with parents, particularly those that commute into Leeds city centre.”

HSBC West Yorkshire area commercial director Mike Hemingway added: “When you talk to Graham and Amika, their passion for excellence comes across clearly.

“They have developed a top class facility where children will learn and develop in a safe, secure and fun environment, plus they are also helping the local economy by creating forty new jobs and bringing a derelict building back into use.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .