Entrepreneur Jennie Johnson has secured a £7.5m loan from Abbey’s new corporate lending team and appointed advisors in a bid to attract more funding to expand her Didsbury-based Kids Allowed nursery business.

Johnson, who co-founded Kids Allowed in 2005, has appointed Manchester-based corporate finance firm Rickitt Mitchell to seek private equity funding for the business.

The deal allows her to buy back the company’s existing sites at Christie Fields Office Park in West Didsbury and at Cheadle Royal Business Park from the company’s original investor, Chester-based commercial property firm Barlows. It also operates a site at Mobberley Road in Knutsford, which opened in February. Johnson now intends to acquire a further two sites and has a long term plan to operate 15 childcare centres across the North West.

“The fact that we secured a substantial loan from Abbey in these tough economic times proves the success of our business and confidence in its prospects,” said Johnson.

“We negotiated an amicable exit for our current shareholders who have been instrumental in getting us to this stage and are now gearing up for a major rollout.”

Paul Mitchell and Neil Mitchell of Rickitt Mitchell are retained advisers to Kids Allowed.