Nuuri Raises £275K Pre-Seed to Revolutionize How UK Parents Find and Enrol in Nurseries

Edinburgh-based startup Nuuri has secured £275,000 in pre-seed funding to accelerate the rollout of its digital platform aimed at simplifying how parents search for and enrol their children in nurseries across the UK.

Founded in 2024 by former working father turned entrepreneur Steven Clarke, Nuuri positions itself as the UK’s first end-to-end discovery and enrolment solution for nurseries. According to the company, the current system for families seeking childcare leaves much to be desired—long waiting lists, inconsistent online information, cancelled viewings, and opaque enrolment practices. Clarke said his own struggles navigating the nursery system for his first child revealed a significant gap in the market.

Nuuri’s platform offers a centralised hub where parents can search for nurseries by postcode, preferred start date, and child age, while accessing virtual tours, room capacity data, cost calculators, and a parent advice section. On the provider side, nurseries gain a digital storefront that streamlines pre-enrolment administration and communication, helping them connect with parents more efficiently.

The pre-seed round was oversubscribed and completed in roughly 90 days—about a month faster than planned. Launched in December 2024, Nuuri is already operating across Scotland, England, and Wales, connecting parents and nursery providers through a unified digital experience.

With the new funding, Nuuri plans to ramp up product development, including the integration of artificial intelligence tools designed to replace outdated manual documentation and communication processes. The company also aims to expand the parent journey from search through to enrolment, while supporting nurseries with marketing and onboarding solutions tailored to the UK’s private daycare sector.

A recent survey commissioned by the company found that more than 79 % of UK parents were placed on a waiting list for a nursery spot, and 43 % had to wait between nine and twelve months. About 63 % of parents expressed dissatisfaction with their search and enrolment experience, pointing to poor transparency and a lack of digital support as key frustrations.

One of the early adopters of Nuuri’s platform, Nafeesah Rafiq, owner of Bright Bees Nurseries, described the platform as a long-awaited digital breakthrough for the childcare industry. She praised its ability to guide parents smoothly from search to enrolment while freeing up staff from repetitive administrative tasks that typically slow down operations.

The timing of Nuuri’s growth is strategic, coming amid increased focus on improving early-years childcare infrastructure in the UK. The country’s nursery market remains fragmented and under-digitised, forcing both parents and providers to deal with cumbersome manual systems. By offering a marketplace-style interface combined with enrolment and management tools, Nuuri aims to become the go-to digital platform for the sector.

While its current focus is firmly on the UK market, the company’s founders believe the model could scale to other regions where parents face similar childcare challenges. The new capital will enable Nuuri to execute its roadmap—rolling out advanced AI features, improving search and enrolment flows, and expanding partnerships with nursery providers nationwide.

For parents struggling to secure childcare and nurseries bogged down by paperwork, Nuuri offers a timely digital alternative. Whether it can grow into the “Rightmove for nurseries” remains to be seen, but with this funding round, the company has established a strong foundation to reshape how families find and secure nursery places in the years ahead.