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With the implementation of Pay Parity and increased wages, there has been a discernible enhancement in staff retention within the majority of businesses I have had the privilege to represent. While competitive remuneration undoubtedly plays a pivotal role in retaining talent, it's important to acknowledge other noteworthy factors contributing to this positive trend.

Among these factors are:

Happy New Year, after a great summer we are looking forward to what the 2024 year delivers for the ECE sector.

In some recent appraisals and sales, we have noted a range of challenges around leases, in particular, shorter durations being available for a new owner so I felt it valuable to provide some insight on this.

During recent Childcare business and freehold negotiations, some purchasers have not been able to secure finance via the traditional bank lending process which has changed significantly after introduction of the new lending regulations in 2022. 

Another limiting factor is the high interest rates which have increased the cost of borrowing and mortgage payments.

To overcome this issue, negotiations have been facilitated with Vendor finance, also known as seller financing, to achieve a successful sale.

To achieve fair market value for the sale of a Childcare business, there are a number of factors to consider.

1. Knowledgeable and Willing Parties: Fair market value is determined when both the buyer and seller are acting in their best interests and possess reasonable knowledge about the value of the childcare business and associated real estate. This ensures that neither party takes advantage of the other.

With the receipt of the July 2023 funding payment, we are now receiving clients’ full year financials to 31 March 2023.  Reviewing these there are some trends of increasing expenses coming through which warrant mention.
With the rising cost of living front of minds for all of us, there are potential opportunities for all owners to take a closer look at their expenses and see if any of these can be reduced to improve financial performance :

The team have continued to be busy over the last month or so with enquiry on childcare business and freehold sales.

There have been some delays in getting the 2022 financials through from Accountants as they continue to be challenged with staff being away due to Covid. 

The first quarter of the year has certainly been interesting with the continued disruption of Omicron working its way throughout NZ. 

This has impacted the centre operations with occupancy, meeting staff ratios while many have been isolating and rising costs.

Our advice to all business owners continues to be that they keep a close eye on their financial management to ensure costs are keep in balance with revenue and  help navigate through increasing rents, wages and general expenses that is impacting all business owners in current economic times.

When negotiating a business purchase, it is easy for the Buyer to think they have all the power in the negotiation, and that the Seller is so motivated to achieve a sale, the Buyer has all the control.

This is not always the case. To achieve a sale “it takes Two “ ; a willing buyer and a willing seller.

In a recent sale I have been involved with the buyer and their solicitor were placing a number of demands on the sellers during the due diligence process, expecting them to agree without hesitation to achieve a sale.

The childcare sector continues to be very active with a high demand nationally for businesses and freehold properties. The Childcare sector is highly desirable for a broad range of Investors ...

At Childcare Sales , we are often approached by people who enquire about the cost of a business and then ask themselves the question, “Maybe it would be cheaper to start my own childcare business rather than buy one”.

Whilst, in theory, starting your own Childcare business sounds exciting, invigorating, and melting with positives, the reality is actually quite different.   In the childcare sector it is going to get a whole lot harder to do a new start-up with the proposed ‘Network Management’ regulations being introduced by the Ministry of Education from 1 August 2022.

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