The freehold sale of Sheen Montessori Nursery in Sheen, South West London, has been announced.

Established in 2011 by husband-and-wife team, Steve McNicol and Fiona Macleod, Sheen Montessori has steadily grown to become the go-to Montessori nursery in the area.

Their Montessori pedagogy recognises that each child learns in a different way, taking a different path and travelling at a different pace, so they designed the nursery to encourage curiosity and discovery amongst the children that attend.

Fiona started the nursery when they had their own children and has continued to work alongside the manager to create the business.

At any one time, this Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’ nursery takes up to 60 children and was purpose built to provide bright, light-filled rooms for the children to enjoy across two floors.

The nursery also benefits from unrivalled access to the outdoors, not only from its impressive garden, but also from being situated on Palewell Common – a unique experience for a London nursery.

Steve and Fiona recently decided to sell to retire from the sector and to spend time with their family.

Following a confidential sales process with Sophie Willcox at Christie & Co, and with funding sourced through Alena Ray at Christie Finance, the nursery has been purchased by SMART Preschool Education Ltd, which owns another setting in Southfields.

Antonietta Hibberd and Tatiana Carvalho, directors at SMART Preschool Education Ltd, said: “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to continue the legacy of providing excellent care and education to the children and families at Sheen Montessori.

“Our aim is to create a great home for high-quality independent preschools, each maintaining their own unique identity and expertise.”

Willcox added: “Sheen Montessori is a truly wonderful setting that exudes quality and calmness.

“I knew it would be an attractive proposition for a new owner and I am excited to see what Philip and Allan do with the business moving forward.

“Despite the nursery running on a term time-only basis, Steve and Fiona have created a highly-profitable model that is unique for term-time-only preschools, and I knew would be of interest to SMART Preschools.”

Alena Ray, director at Christie Finance, said: “We completed the acquisition in three and a half months which is a quick turnaround in the current climate, but this is attributable to Philip and Allan for their confidence in me and their attention to detail.”

Sheen Montessori Nursery was sold for an undisclosed price.