A new children's day nursery with spaces for more than 45 children has opened in Exeter, creating 20 jobs and fulfilling a lifelong dream for two local entrepreneurs.
Echoes Childcare was founded by experienced nursery workers and friends Joanne Cook and Michele Stevens after they discovered the perfect location in Broadclyst for the business they had dreamed of starting for nearly 20 years.
The nursery has a number of specialist rooms for children of different ages, large spacious playrooms and an area for parking.
The outside space has also been designed to stimulate children's imaginations and contains a stage, a water wall, a music area and a mini-beast zone where students can interact with a variety of insects and learn about the natural world.
Michele said: "When we first saw the premises we recognised that it would be the perfect place to start the day nursery.
"Previously a Victorian pub, the building has large well lit rooms that provide attractive and spacious playrooms for children.
"It is also ideally situated within easy reach of Exeter city centre and a short distance from a number of local primary schools. We recognise that modern parents no longer work nine to five, five days a week, and because of this we have extended our opening hours from 7am until 7pm as well as opening on Saturdays."
The nursery will also be running a holiday play scheme for school-age children, which will take place during every school holiday and on teacher training days.
In order to secure the funding needed for the project, Joanne and Michele approached Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, which provided a five-figure loan through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme.
The EFG is a government-backed scheme which allow banks to lend to businesses who do not have the security necessary for traditional forms of lending.
Since the scheme launched, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has provided more than 6,000 EFG loans worth £490 million to businesses across the UK.
Joanne said: "The support that Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking provided throughout the project had been invaluable. Our healthcare relationship team were always on hand to provide friendly and professional guidance, as well as finding a finance package that was tailored to suit our exact business needs."
Noel Munson, healthcare relationship manager at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: "When Joanne and Michele approached us with their plans for the nursery we could immediately see that they had the passion and proven experience to make the business a potential success.
"They have been able to design and renovate the building to suit their exact requirements and now have a range of engaging high-quality facilities that are fun and stimulating for children.
"At Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking we are dedicated to supporting new enterprises like Echoes Childcare, and as part of our latest SME charter we have pledged to help 100,000 businesses start up in 2014."
