Utsaha Education, the owner of south west London day nursery, Barnes Day Care, has successfully secured a £2.5m commercial mortgage refinance to help spur the ongoing growth of the business.

The move will free up cash it plans to invest back into its child daycare services, and potentially future nursery acquisitions.

Having identified a significant undersupply of high-quality childcare solutions, Utsaha Education was set up in 2022 with Barnes Day Care as its first project.

Providing care for children aged between 10 months and five years old, the nursery has capacity for 30 children and boasts a ‘Good’ rating from Ofsted.

It is situated on the affluent and leafy street of Westmoreland Road in Barnes and, operating from a converted house, the team looks to provide a ‘home away from home’ setting.

Funded by Allica Bank, the commercial mortgage refinance will allow Utsaha to reduce the size of its debt repayments, which it can then invest back into its services, such as exploring the further use of technology to aid child development or boost service efficiencies.

It is also exploring other potential nursery acquisitions, having purchased Tiggers Nursery in Putney in 2023.

Andrew Pitayanukul, managing director at Utsaha Education, said: “Barnes Day Care has been an important part of this community for many years and we’ve loved every minute of being part of it since we took over in 2022.

“Our nursery management team do a fantastic job day in, day out, and this refinance will allow us to continue to invest in enhancing our child and parent services even further.

“We’ve found that typically banks can really struggle with understanding nursery businesses, but Allica’s dedicated healthcare team showed the value of having real sector expertise, making the whole process much easier than we’ve experienced elsewhere.

“We’re also incredibly grateful to our broker, Cameron Hayes at Arc & Co, for the considered introduction.”

Brian Bovell, specialist healthcare relationship manager at Allica Bank, added: “Barnes Day Care is a stellar example of a well-run day nursery, serving a tight-knit community in south west London.

“The Ofsted reports speak for themselves and I am so pleased Allica has been able to support Utsaha Education with this refinance and we hope to continue to help them with whatever comes next!”

And Cameron Hayes, director at Arc & Co, said: “With a people-first approach and clear knowledge of the sector, Allica stood out as the best lender to support Utsaha Education with this refinance.

“Collaboration was absolutely key to getting it over the line.

“It’s fantastic to have played a part in helping support this brilliant community asset in Barnes and we look forward to seeing Utsaha Education leverage their experience and continue to grow.”