Two highly respected nurseries in Glasgow have joined the Busy Bees family.
The sale has seen Busy Bees acquire Lochview Nursery located on Johnston Road in Gartcosh, and Parkview nursery located on Cumbernauld Road in Muirhead, Chryston. Both nurseries were owned by co-founder Jim Agnew who has established a leading reputation in the local community since opening the first nursery in 2007, and until the point of sale oversaw the business alongside his sons James and Ben.
Rated ‘Very Good’ by the Care Inspectorate, both nurseries offer nurturing home-from-home environments for children across all age groups, babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers. They strive to create a fun and caring environment where all children can grow and thrive through the highest quality care and learning in a play-based environment both indoors and outdoors.
Lochview Nursery currently caters for 59 children, and features three purpose-built playrooms, designed to support the needs of the children as they grow. Parkview Nursery caters for 103 children and provides learning opportunities in a safe and stimulating but unique environment which was formally a Baptist church. Both nurseries boast extensive outdoor spaces in which children thrive under the guidance and support of the long-standing nursery teams and skilled leadership.
Both nurseries benefit from large outdoor spaces, giving children the opportunity to explore the natural world. With the Agnew family specialism in the construction industry, all nursery spaces have been designed to a high standard, with children’s learning at the forefront of planning both inside and outside spaces, all of which have been exceptionally maintained.
This expansion brings the total number of Busy Bees nurseries in Scotland to 23, spread across 13 local authorities, making Busy Bees one of the largest childcare providers in Scotland. Following the acquisition, Busy Bees now has seven early years settings in and around Glasgow, including Glasgow Heritage House, Glasgow Kelvin, Glasgow Oakwood, East Kilbride, and its first-ever new build which opened in December 2024, Busy Bees Glasgow Lenzie. The new Lenzie nursery, located just a few miles from the Parkview nursery, creates even more access to high-quality early years education for families in the area, and additional opportunities are now presented to colleagues looking to progress their career within the global company.
Yvonne Smilie, Managing Director for Busy Bees Scotland, said: “We are delighted to welcome Lochview and Parkview nurseries to our growing family. Jim, alongside sons James and Ben, have built up an enviable reputation for their high-quality learning environments and we are committed to preserving this vision going forward.
“We’re proud to continue the legacy of the Agnew family and support the well-established teams, who are held in high regards by parents. Together, working closely with Nursery Managers Lorraine and Kimberly, and their teams, we will ensure every child continues to receive the best start in life. We extend a warm welcome to all colleagues, children and families into Busy Bees.”
Jim Agnew, Former Co-Founder of Lochview and Parkview nurseries, added: “It has been an incredible journey over the last 18 years, building two incredible nurseries with the support of a fantastic, dedicated and loyal staff team. I am delighted to be able to pass on this legacy to the Busy Bees family who I have total confidence in to support the whole staff team to grow the nursery and strive for even greater standards of the highest quality of early learning and childcare for the children and families in the local community.”
Parents and staff across both nurseries will, in time, have access to the Busy Bees App, designed to help parents stay connected to their child’s nursery journey. For now, the nurseries will continue to enjoy the Famly system that both nurseries use so well.
To find out more, please call 0330 333 8133.