A CHILDCARE firm has expanded with the purchase of a nursery school.

Nursery Group Ltd has acquired Looby Lou’s, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, which offers pre-school care and education to children from six weeks to five years old.

Looby Lou’s employs 28 full and part-time staff and offers 137 places, which includes its out-of-school Kids Club for five to 12- year-olds.

The nursery was established almost 20 years ago.

The Kids Club was created to help working parents and provides a range of activities for schoolage children during term-time and holidays. It also provides a minibus service to schools in the area.

It is the second nursery the company has bought in the region. It also owns the Playdays nursery, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The company was assisted in buying the Northallerton business by North- East law firm Gordon Brown Associates.

The firm, which has four offices in the North-East, also assisted the company with the acquisition of Playdays.

Aftab Ahmed, director of Nursery Group Ltd, said: “After the acquisition of Playdays in Newton Aycliffe, we wanted to expand in the North- East and Looby Lou’s was a perfect fit for our business.

“It has an excellent reputation and has served the Northallerton community very well.

We will build on its success.”