Staff are paid monthly. Funding arrives termly.
Childcare providers cover wages every month while funded places pay out in slow, lumpy blocks. Compare cash-flow offers built for that rhythm from one request, a soft search only, with no mark on your credit file.
The wage bill is decided before a child arrives.
Staff are by far your biggest cost, and the number of them is not really a management choice. Ratios set it. Open a room and it has to be staffed to the required level from the first morning, whether it is full or half empty, which is why payroll in this sector behaves like a fixed cost rather than a variable one.
That is the whole problem in one line: the cost is locked in advance and monthly, while a large slice of the income is not. It is also why funding here is usually about timing rather than trouble.
Ratios first, income afterWages are weekly or monthly. The funding is not.
Places paid for by the local authority are paid termly and usually in arrears, frequently on an estimate at the start of a period that is reconciled later, so the cash can lag the care you have already delivered by weeks. Parent-paid fees help, but they sit alongside funded hours rather than replacing them.
Cover the gap with a lump
Working capital is a single sum to cover wages, rent and food through a quiet period or while you wait on the next payment, repaid over a set term.
ONE CLEAR NEEDOr keep a buffer standing by
A business line of credit is drawn on only when you need it, which suits a recurring lag far better than a lump you took months before the pressure arrived.
DRAW WHAT YOU USEOr let repayment follow the fees
Revenue advance is repaid as a small agreed share of your regular fee and card receipts, so it flexes down in slower months instead of holding a fixed payment.
FLEXES WITH INCOMEOne request reaches funding partners who understand how childcare income actually arrives, and comparing is a soft search that leaves your credit score exactly where it is.
More registered places is the clearest route to more revenue.
Beyond cash flow, settings borrow to invest in capacity, because the ceiling on income is the number of places you are registered for. Converting a room for under-twos, where ratios are tightest and demand is often strongest, or extending outdoor space, changes that ceiling in a way nothing else does.
Equipment & asset finance spreads a kitchen refit, an outdoor play area, a sensory room or a minibus over its useful life instead of paying up front, while a business term loan suits the larger, fixed-term projects: opening a new room, refurbishing premises or acquiring another nursery.
Built first, filled afterDemand is not flat, and the costs are.
Every autumn a cohort of your oldest children leaves for school, and the new intake often builds gradually as families settle little ones in. That leaves a soft patch across late summer while rent, rates and core staff costs carry on regardless. Wraparound and holiday clubs smooth some of it, but the underlying pattern of a summer trough and an autumn rebuild is common across the sector.
Planning funding around that curve rather than reacting to it in the summer puts you in a stronger position. A facility arranged in the spring protects wages and keeps good staff through the quiet weeks, so you are fully staffed and ready when occupancy climbs again. Comparing early also means you are not borrowing in a hurry at whatever terms you can get. Every option sits side by side on the funding types Capvant covers.
Most settings need the right tool for one job.
Not one big loan. A good partner will often suggest a combination, for example a flexible facility for the seasonal dip alongside equipment funding for a capital project.
Bridging the weeks between paying staff and being paid
The most common reason of all. Wages leave on their date while the funded hours payment lands on its own, and the two rarely line up.
Converting a room for the youngest children
Ratios are tightest for under-twos and demand is often strongest there, so a converted room is one of the clearest routes to more registered places.
Outdoor space, kitchens and tired premises
Extending outdoor space, upgrading a kitchen to handle more meals and refurbishing worn rooms are all real costs that arrive well before the extra income they support.
Recruiting and keeping good people
In a tight labour market, funding recruitment and retention protects the ratios your registered places depend on, which is the difference between a full room and a closed one.
Software, and then a second site
Parent communication and register software is a small step. Acquiring a second nursery is the large one, and it is usually funded against the trading picture of the site you already run.
Pick the range the next room or the next payroll run needs, and see which funding partners would support it.
What decides it on a setting.
Alongside your bank statements and accounts, many partners want to understand the things that actually drive a childcare profit and loss. Steady or rising occupancy and a strong inspection outcome tell a reassuring story, and recent turnover fills in the rest.
- Occupancy levels, and the trend in them
- The split between funded hours and privately paid hours
- Your registration and most recent inspection outcome
- How long is left on the lease, or whether you own the premises
- Staff-to-child ratios and the wage bill behind them
- The level of parent-fee arrears sitting on the books
A setting is not read like a shop
Funding partners assess a nursery differently from a typical retailer or trade business, because occupancy, registration and ratios explain the numbers better than takings alone.
None of it needs to be perfect
Partners fund settings at many stages, including those investing to grow. Having a clear picture of occupancy, ratios and arrears ready simply makes for faster, better-matched offers.
Looking is a soft search
Checking your options has no impact on your credit score, and a hard check only happens if you accept an offer.
Before you compare, have recent business bank statements, your latest accounts, a simple view of current and projected occupancy and a clear figure for how much you want and what it is for. The sharper the ask, the easier it is for partners to come back with relevant terms. Funding is for business purposes only, and approval and terms are always set by the funding partner.
Capvant is a funding marketplace, not a lender, and serves owners across both the UK and the US, though products and rules differ by market. The full path is set out on how Capvant works. Amounts in the artwork on this page are illustrative only, in £.
Frequently asked questions
Can my childcare and nurseries business get funding through Capvant?
Yes. Capvant works with funding partners that fund childcare and nurseries businesses across the United Kingdom. One request matches you with the partners most likely to say yes.
What funding suits childcare and nurseries businesses?
It depends on your goal, common options include working capital, business line of credit, revenue advance, equipment & asset finance, business term loan. Compare them side by side and pick what fits.
Will checking my options affect my credit score?
No. Seeing your options through Capvant is a soft search, so it leaves no mark on your credit file. A lender only runs a full credit check if you decide to accept an offer.
Is Capvant a lender?
No. Capvant is a funding marketplace, we match you with funding partners and you choose the offer that suits you. Funding decisions, rates and terms are set by the lender, subject to approval.
How fast can I get funded?
Once you accept an offer, many businesses receive funds within a few working days, some products fund same day.
Keep the rooms staffed while the funding catches up.
One request brings back competing offers from funding partners who understand occupancy, ratios and how childcare income arrives, and looking never touches your credit score.
No obligation. Checking your offers won’t affect your credit score.
Disclaimers & footnotes
- 1Capvant is a funding marketplace, not a lender. We match business owners with third-party funding partners; we do not make credit decisions, lend money, or set rates or terms. All funding decisions, rates, terms and approvals are made solely by the lenders in our network, subject to their criteria.
- 2Checking your options through Capvant does not affect your credit score. A lender may carry out a soft or hard credit search depending on the product, stage and your consent. A full hard credit check is only carried out where required by a lender before you proceed.
- 3Funding speed, including any reference to funding in as little as 24 hours, is typical for some products and lenders and is not guaranteed. Actual timescales depend on the lender, the product, and how quickly requested information and documents are provided.
- 4Funding amounts and ranges are indicative only and vary with your business profile, trading history, the lender and the market. Figures shown are not an offer of finance and do not guarantee any particular amount, rate or approval.
- 5Any offers, rates or repayment figures shown in illustrations or examples are for demonstration only and are not real quotes. Your actual offers, if any, are provided by lenders and are subject to approval.
- 6Product availability varies by market. Some products are only available in certain countries. Capvant currently serves businesses in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Capvant is not a lender and does not make credit decisions, we introduce businesses to third-party funding providers. Capvant is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Capvant does not compare every lender, broker, funding product or offer available in the market. We only show options from funding partners in our network that may be relevant based on the information you provide.
Capvant may receive compensation from lenders, brokers, funding partners or referral partners when a customer is introduced, approved, funded or takes another qualifying action. This compensation does not guarantee that any lender will approve an application or offer specific terms. Capvant does not charge business owners a fee to compare funding options unless clearly stated otherwise.
If you access Capvant through a partner, introducer or embedded funding page, that partner may receive a referral fee or commission if your request results in funding. This does not increase your cost unless expressly disclosed.
Capvant is intended for business-purpose funding only. Eligibility may depend on entity type, location, trading history, revenue, industry and lender criteria. In the UK, Capvant currently focuses on limited companies, LLPs and plcs, and does not currently support sole traders or ordinary partnerships.
Information on Capvant is general information only and is not financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. You should consider whether funding is suitable for your business and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Calculators, eligibility checkers and funding-readiness tools are estimates only. They are based on limited information and assumptions, and do not represent a credit decision, quote, approval or recommendation.
Company information may be sourced from public registers such as Companies House, or from information you provide. Public register data may be incomplete, delayed or inaccurate and should not be treated as a full credit assessment.
The Business Credit Score by Capvant is an independent statistical assessment based on public register data. It is not provided by a credit reference agency and may differ from scores used by individual lenders.
By submitting an application or funding request, you authorise Capvant to share relevant business, owner, request and document information with funding partners, service providers and introducers where necessary to process your request, subject to our Privacy Policy.
Some US commercial financing offers may be subject to state-specific disclosure requirements. Where required, additional disclosures will be provided and must be accepted before a transaction is finalised.