Nurtured Childcare, the multi-award-winning day nurseries group, has appointed Alicia Whitworth as head of marketing and Aaron Awan as chief financial officer. Both are new roles at the Stockport-headquartered company, which was founded in 2021 by the serial education entrepreneur Craig Brennan.
Ms Whitworth was previously head of marketing at the London day nurseries business Bright Little Stars, and has spent almost a decade working in the childcare and child enrichment sectors.
In her new role she will work closely with Nurtured’s operations director, Rebecca Casserly, and chief executive, Craig Brennan, shaping and delivering the business’s marketing strategy to support growth across its portfolio of nurseries, strengthen brand awareness and improve the full customer journey from first enquiry through to enrolment. She will also lead the group’s Family Experience team, helping to ensure a consistent, high-quality journey for families both online and offline.
Ms Whitworth said, “My objective is to build a strong, effective marketing function that supports Nurtured Childcare’s growth ambitions, strengthens our connection with families and local communities, and helps us tell the Nurtured story in a clear and consistent way.”
In addition to driving occupancy growth, a key priority for Ms Whitworth will be to build the company’s employer brand to support recruitment. She explained, “In my short time with Nurtured, the strength of the culture, values and benefits on offer has already become very clear, and a key priority for me is to ensure we communicate that more powerfully to potential employees.
“Attracting and retaining the right people is vital for any nursery group, and I see marketing playing an important role in helping Nurtured stand out as an employer of choice.”
Mr Awan is an experienced CFO. He was previously finance director at Hometree, which recently exited to Pollen Street Capital, and a corporate finance adviser at BDO. He specialises in M&A in high growth and/or investor-backed businesses and has completed on a number of transactions this year, including Percept’s fundraise and the sale of Inflow to Cerebral.
In his role as fractional CFO he will work with Mr Brennan and the company’s financial controller, Chris Grubisic, to drive forward Nurtured Childcare’s accelerating programme of acquisitions, as well as supporting and mentoring the finance team.
Initially his role will involve valuation and modelling of potential acquisitions, due diligence, working with lenders to secure financing, and deal execution.
Mr Awan said, “I was introduced to Craig by a trusted friend and am excited to work with a serial entrepreneur in a privately owned business, who has grown the business its current size without outside investment and, in the process, become the most recent winner of the ‘Serial Acquirer of the Year’ accolade at the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Awards.
“Nurtured Childcare is rightly highly selective about the acquisition opportunities it pursues, so a large amount of work goes into every transaction we consider. I have extensive experience executing deals so I will be able to ease the burden on Craig significantly, freeing him up to focus on strategic leadership across the group.”
Nurtured Childcare is part of SK4 Holdings, a group that also includes LSC, the UK’s largest provider of specialist PPA cover and wraparound childcare for primary schools, and Smile Society, a private dental group. Ms Whitworth’s and Mr Awan’s roles were created following a strategic decision to empower each group company with its own senior management team and move away from pooling resources.
Mr Brennan said, “Creating these positions marks a significant step in Nurtured Childcare’s evolution, and Alicia and Aaron will both have key roles to play as the company pursues its ambitious, but considered, growth strategy. I would like to welcome both of them on board and I look forward to achieving great things together over the months and years ahead.”
Nurtured Childcare aims to run 100 of the highest-quality nurseries in the UK by 2035, a target that will be achieved primarily by acquisition. It currently operates 12 settings across the North of England and the Midlands, and employs 400 staff, looking after 1,250 children each week. In 2025 it achieved turnover of more than £11 million.
The company, and its staff, have received significant recognition in recent years. It regularly features in the daynurseries.co.uk Top 20 Nursery Groups, including in 2026, and during the past year its operations director Rebecca Casserly was named “COO of the Year” at the NMT Power Awards, while chief executive Craig Brennan won the “Company Leader of the Year” category of the BusinessDesk.com North West Leadership Awards.
Nurtured Childcare’s parent company, SK4 Holdings, meanwhile, was recognised as “Serial Acquirer of the Year” at the 2025 Gerald Edelman Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Awards.
