How much does it cost to open a nursery?
The cost to open a nursery
In this article, we will go over all the main costs involved with opening a nursery in the UK.
This has been updated for 2022, so you have the up-to-date costs to properly help you to plan your budgeting.
This article covers the costs associated with starting a nursery yourself. Starting a nursery as a franchise can be considerably higher.
There are various costs associated with opening and running a nursery.
Theses vary from:
- one of costs e.g. purchase of your building or certain equipment
- fixed costs e.g. rent or mortgage payments
- variable costs e.g. food shopping
- and ongoing costs e.g. utilities
The costs you are likely to expect when opening and then subsequently running your nursery are discussed below.
A typical nursery can cost upwards of £100, 000*. Though, with our free guide we can show you how you can start with a much smaller budget (£30, 000*). Find out how to register for this free training at the end of this article.
In the free guide you will also learn how to apply for funding, so that you can start with a personal fund of under £10,000*.
The cost of opening a nursery*
| Area | Sub-area | Cost | Additional information |
| Building | Rent/ Mortgage | £30,000 – £50, 000 | Will usually need a deposit and/ or up to 6 month’s rent/ mortgage in order to start |
| Remodelling | £20, 000-£40,000 | Installing children’s toilets, kitchen, outdoor surfaces etc | |
| Premises inspection | £800 – £1000 | PAT testing, fire safety | |
| Insurance | £1000 | For the year | |
| Staff | Recruitment | £500-£1,000 | Recruitment need not be high, but can add up if using agencies for example |
| Uniform | £200-£250 | Branded uniform should cost no more than £10-£15 per item | |
| Training | £500-£800 | Staff will need first aid, food hygiene and safeguarding training. As well as a DBS check | |
| Staff wages | £15,000-£30,000 | Should budget for up to 3 months of staff’s wages | |
| Office and nursery | IT resources | £2000-£5,000 | Will need computers, printers, desks, tablets, mobile phone, stationary etc |
| Nursery Toys and equipment | £3,000 – £10,000 | Indoor and outdoor toys, children’s tables and chairs, | |
| Ofsted | Yearly registration | £220 | Fixed fee for nurseries |
| Compliance documents | £400-£500 | Policies and procedures, necessary posters, staff handbooks | |
| Marketing | Website | £100-£1000 | Creation and design of the website |
| Marketing tools | £500-£1500 | Logo design, branded materials, flyers | |
| Online marketing | £1000-£2000 | Online adverts, social media |
Total start-up cost: £75,000 - £145,000*
There are also ongoing costs you will need to take into consideration. This includes – staffing, gas, electricity and other utilities, insurance, disposable resources like cleaning products, tissues and wipes and food.
Excluding staffing costs, this will likely cost a few hundred pounds per month.
Reduce your costs by up to £50,000*
Take the free course on ‘How to open a nursery’ to learn how.
In the course you will learn how to:
- Budget for your nursery
- Reduce start up costs by up to 70%
- How to create your first business plan
- The other steps involved in opening a nursery
To get started on the free course simply register below and get instant access:
