News Article

Papillon becomes latest name to land at Maxim

26/01/2010

Respected private nursery Papillon is set to transform its childcare facilities - as well as its business – after confirming its move to the prestigious Maxim Office Park in Lanarkshire.

Papillon, established by joint owners Fiona Leggat and Joyce McAdam, is one of only a few Scottish nurseries to have been awarded six star grading by the Care Commission for Scotland.  Fiona & Joyce have built up decades of childcare experience, professionally, in the voluntary sector and from raising their own families.

Currently based in Motherwell’s Newhouse Industrial Estate, Papillon’s new Maxim facility will be one of the largest nurseries in Scotland. When they open in the New Year, Papillon will bring over 60 youngsters between 0 and five years into the new facility with plans to expand services to accommodate up to 130 children.

The move will also eventually see the North Lanarkshire Council partner nursery double its workforce from 20 to 40 employees.  

The arrival of Papillon – a North Lanarkshire Council partner nursery - further complements the lifestyle facilities available at Maxim, which has already recently attracted sandwich chain Baguette Express and upmarket deli Berits & Brown to the site.

Papillon has leased a 7,500 sq ft unit in Building Two in Maxim at a rent of £17.00per sq ft. The nursery will also feature an outdoor play area of over 630 square metres. Papillon co-owner Fiona Leggat said relocating to Maxim signalled the biggest step-change for the business since its formation in 2006.

She said: “We’ve worked tremendously hard to build our reputation since setting up the nursery. We are very proud of what we have achieved which allows us to make this fantastic move.

“We can only take around 60 children at our existing premises and we have a waiting list of babies that we just can’t take at present. The opportunity to take part of the ground floor of Building 2 at Maxim, to help with the design and planning of the facility, allowing us to create a brand-new, purpose built nursery, was too good to turn down.

“The new nursery will be unique – we’ll have four separate play rooms and one of Scotland's largest baby wings, together with a large outdoor, secure play area. It’s a very exciting time for us.”

“We have involved North Lanarkshire Council and the Care Commission, both of whom we are regulated by, in our exciting plans.  It is our intention when we move to build upon the reputation which we have in the community and which was further complemented in a recent Care Commission inspection when we were awarded two Grade 6 results, the highest possible grade, for quality of our service. We feel our Care Commission inspection results reflect very much on our manager Domonique O’Neill and our excellent staff team.”

The nursery is set to further strengthen Maxim’s appeal to tenants. The £330 million park is the UK’s largest speculative office park development, comprising 10 buildings, totalling 756,000 sq ft of high quality space. The initial three office buildings are now complete - with the entire park due for completion in March 2010 - and offer a first class working environment, as well as Grade A office accommodation and a wide range of shops and leisure facilities. Amenities include a PGA accredited putting facility which is supported by leading Scots golfer Alistair Forsyth.

Commenting on the park’s latest deal, Maxim Chief Executive Karen Campbell said: “Papillon is a tremendous addition to the park and is a further demonstration of the type of environment and lifestyle we’re trying to create at Maxim.

“We aren’t just interested in being a place where people turn up for  work in the morning and leave again in the evening: we want Maxim to be somewhere people look forward to coming to, which has a life and vibrancy beyond the 9 to 5.

“Having a quality, accredited nursery like Papillion on-site is a fantastic draw for potential tenants and it will further position Maxim as one of the most attractive places to do business in Scotland.”

Fit out at Maxim has already commenced and is expected to take up to eight weeks, allowing the nursery to open shortly after the new year.

The Papillon announcement comes in the wake of the deal to bring the world’s largest provider of workplace solutions Regus to Maxim.  Regus is to initially take the first floor of Maxim Building One, providing 250 workstations and 8 meeting rooms, with the potential to expand operations across the remainder of the 70,000 sq ft building.