You know your nursery from the inside. You know which room leader holds things together on a bad day, and which families have been with you since their first child. A buyer meets it from the outside, through Ofsted's website, the council's directory and your accounts. Then they come in and test whether what they read holds up.
This guide looks at a nursery sale from the buyer's side of the table. Our guide to selling a nursery covers the sale itself. This one sets out what a buyer checks, roughly in the order they check it, so you can have it ready.
How a buyer approaches a nursery
A buyer tends to sort what they find into two piles. The first is risk they can't fix quickly after completion, such as a weak inspection, a safeguarding problem, a manager who's about to leave or a short lease. The second is room to improve, such as empty places or a rota that could work harder.
The price tends to follow the first pile. A buyer will pay for upside they can see, but they'll take money off for every risk they'd have to carry, and walk away from some.
The inspection record
The first stop is Ofsted's reports website. It keeps a setting's history, including after a change of owner, for five years. A buyer will read every report card and any older reports, the actions Ofsted set, any enforcement notices and outcome summaries, and any conditions on your registration.
Under the renewed framework, they'll pay most attention to leadership and governance and to safeguarding, because councils can stop funding free hours where those fall short. They'll also work out when your next inspection is due. Our guide to Ofsted report cards explains the grades and the timing.
Then they'll ask for what Ofsted knows but hasn't published. A registered provider must tell Ofsted about significant events, such as a child leaving the setting unnoticed, within 14 days. Expect to be asked for every notification you've made and any complaints parents made to Ofsted, with how each was resolved.
Occupancy, places and floor space
Occupancy is usually where the numbers start, and buyers want it by room and by day of the week, over at least the last few years. A nursery that's full on Tuesdays and half empty on Fridays tells a different story from one that's three quarters full every day.
They'll set occupancy against the places on your registration, and against what your rooms and your staff allow. The EYFS requires 3.5 square metres per child under 2, 2.5 for each two year old and 2.3 for each child aged three to five, so changing a room's age group changes how many children it can take. The ratios then decide how many people each extra child brings with them.
A waiting list helps, if it's real. Buyers will want names with ages and start dates, and to see how many of last year's list became children on roll. They'll also look at what happens each September, when children leave for reception class, and how quickly those places refill.
Fees, funded hours and the charging rules
A buyer will split your income into its sources. These are funded hours for each entitlement, private fees, charges for meals and other extras, and payments such as the Early Years Pupil Premium. The more of your income comes from funded hours, the more your profit depends on the rate your council pays rather than the fees you set.
They'll also check that your charges follow the Department for Education's rules. Funded hours must be free to parents. Extras such as meals and nappies can be charged, but they must be optional, with a reasonable alternative. Councils should stop providers making extras or extra hours a condition of a funded place, and parents' invoices should show funded hours separately. A buyer who finds compulsory top-up fees will see a problem with the council, and perhaps with parents, that they'd inherit.
Finally, they'll reconcile your funding claims with attendance. Councils set out in their provider agreements when they'll reclaim funding, and a buyer won't want to pay for income that might be clawed back.
The profit a buyer will rely on
A buyer will rebuild your profit before putting a value on it. If you work as the manager or cover shifts yourself, they'll charge a market salary for that work. If you own the building and the nursery pays you no rent, they'll charge the rent a landlord would ask. Wages and funding rates are restated at today's levels rather than last year's.
They'll want monthly management accounts as well as the annual ones, so they can see the pattern through the year and how the latest months compare. Our nursery valuation tool gives a rough range on a similar basis.
The manager and the staff
Expect the manager to be one of the buyer's first questions. They'll want to know whether your manager will stay, and whether they could run the nursery without you. The manager must hold a level 3 qualification, and one appointed since 4 January 2024 needs level 2 maths or must get it within two years. If you're the manager yourself, a buyer will deduct the cost of replacing you from the profit.
Then comes the staff file. Ofsted's inspectors must be able to see DBS and vetting records and paediatric first aid arrangements, so a buyer will expect the same. They'll check qualifications against the ratios and first aid certificates against their renewal dates. They'll also check that the designated safeguarding lead's training has been renewed within the last two years.
Staff turnover and agency use come next, and they'll compare your pay with the minimum wage. Our guide to ratios and the wage bill shows how a buyer rebuilds staffing costs from the rota.
Safeguarding and the everyday records
Inspectors may ask to see accident records, complaints and how they were resolved, referrals to the local authority designated officer, records of children refused a place and any log of discrimination incidents. A buyer will ask for the same set. Gaps in these records can worry a buyer more than the incidents themselves, because they suggest the next inspection could find something.
Parents' views count too. Expect a buyer to read your online reviews and any parent survey you run, and to compare them with your complaints log.
The premises
The building has to match what Ofsted registered, and it has to be fit for the ages you care for. The EYFS sets fire safety requirements, such as an evacuation procedure and working fire detection equipment. It also requires daily access to an outdoor play area, or planned outdoor activity where that isn't possible.
If you rent, the lease matters as much as the building, and a buyer will ask for it early. Our guide to selling a nursery covers what they look for in it, and what happens if you own the freehold.
Local competition and demand
Buyers use the same official figures you can. At 31 March 2026, Ofsted counted 739 providers of childcare on non-domestic premises in Kent on the Early Years Register, with 33,375 places between them. Across England the figures were 23,251 providers and 1,157,527 places.
Movement matters as much as the total. Between 31 August 2025 and 31 March 2026, 47 such settings joined the register in Kent and 36 left, and registered places rose from 32,010 to 33,375. A buyer will want to know which of those openings are near you.
They'll also read your council's report on whether there's enough childcare locally, which councils are expected to publish each year. And they'll ask about schools. The Department for Education's school-based nursery programme is in its third phase, for new and extended nurseries between 2027 and 2030. Bids closed on 30 September 2026, with decisions expected in spring 2027. A new nursery class at the primary school down the road would change your numbers.
How to get ready
Nearly everything above already exists in a well-run nursery. The work is gathering it in one place before anyone asks, so that due diligence runs at your pace rather than the buyer's.
- Every Ofsted report card and older report, with the actions set and what you did.
- Your notifications to Ofsted and your complaints log, with outcomes.
- Occupancy by room and by day for three years, and a dated waiting list.
- Funded income reconciled to your claims, with private fees and extras shown separately.
- Your fees page, a sample invoice and your parental declarations.
- A rota set against the ratios, and a staff list with qualifications and first aid dates.
- Safeguarding training records, and the accident and referral records.
- The lease, the fire risk assessment and the building's safety certificates.