The purchase of 26 nursery sites within 48 hours

We acted extremely quickly to help our client, Harp Group Limited, to purchase 26 nursery sites from a nursery chain that was due to go into administration. Harp Group, a newly established nursery chain, was approached by the liquidators to buy the sites from Welcome Nurseries in a pre‐pack administration arrangement (when the sale is agreed before the administrator is appointed).

We had 48 hours to reach an agreement before the next pay date, when staff may have left when they did not receive their wages, putting the survival of the business at risk. We reviewed and reported on 26 leases within this short timescale and obtained a license to occupy each site. The deal was successfully completed with the administrator.

We are now working with the client to liaise with the landlords of the nursery sites, to get the leases assigned. Our employment team is advising us on the staffing elements of this transaction.

This deal was widely reported in industry press:

• Consultancy.uk: Welcome Nurseries selects Begbies Traynor for administration
• Nursery World: Latest on Welcome Nurseries: Group sells 26 settings as it goes into administration