Buying a Daycare or Childcare Business With Commercial Property in Alberta

1. Define the transaction perimeter

Identify whether the proposal is a share purchase, asset purchase, real-property purchase, lease assignment or coordinated combination. Schedule the operating entity, trade name, licence, premises, furniture, equipment, deposits, contracts, technology, curriculum materials and excluded assets.

State which corporation or person holds the childcare licence, owns the real estate, employs staff, contracts with families, receives funding and collects parent fees. Similar names do not prove common ownership or transferability.

• Share or asset structure
• Licence holder
• Owned or leased premises
• Operating assets
• Parent and supplier contracts
• Funding agreements

2. Treat licence continuity as a closing dependency

Alberta's facility-based licensing handbook states that a licence is not transferable. In an asset sale to another corporation or individual, the new operator requires a new facility-based licence and cannot provide licensed childcare until the application and inspection process is complete.

The handbook distinguishes a sale of shares, where the same corporation remains the licence holder, from an asset sale. Even then, ownership and officer changes must be reported, personnel checks or program-plan changes may be required, and the licensing officer should confirm the proposed facts. An existing licence does not prove that a buyer, new corporation or changed program may operate after closing.

3. Verify the premises independently

Obtain current municipal use and development approvals, building and occupancy records, fire and public-health records, approved plans, capacity-related layouts, outdoor-play arrangements, pick-up and drop-off design, parking, accessibility and outstanding orders.

Calgary requires location approval even though an approved commercial facility-based childcare business does not require a City business licence. Edmonton regulates Child Care Service through its zoning bylaw. A former operator's lawful use does not prove approval for a changed operator, capacity, layout, hours or program.

4. Reconcile licensed capacity to actual rooms and age groups

Build a room schedule showing approved program type, age group, licensed capacity, floor area, washrooms, handwashing, sleep, storage, entrances and exits. Reconcile it to the current licence, program plan, municipal drawings and physical tour.

Licensed capacity is not current enrolment, daily attendance or collected revenue. It is also not proof that every room, outdoor area or staffing plan can support the buyer's intended mix.

5. Rebuild enrolment, attendance and collected revenue

Reconcile child-level registrations to attendance, invoices, credits, refunds, payment records, bank deposits, ledger and financial statements using privacy-controlled access. Segment by program, age, schedule, funded status, fee arrangement and start or withdrawal date.

A waitlist is not contracted future enrolment. Separate enquiries, waitlist names, offered spaces, accepted registrations, active attendance, billed fees and collected cash; do not apply one conversion assumption to all categories.

6. Separate parent fees from grants and subsidies

Trace parent fees, affordability funding, subsidies, wage or workforce supports and other public funding to the applicable agreement, claim, child, period, bank receipt and accounting treatment. Review adjustments, audits, overpayments, holds and correspondence.

Alberta's current affordability rules direct prospective purchasers to confirm how a sale or ownership change affects funding. Past grant or subsidy receipts do not guarantee future eligibility, rates, enrolment or payment, and a licence does not itself create a right to funding.

7. Review family agreements and deferred obligations

Index parent agreements, fee schedules, deposits, registration charges, notice periods, closures, vacation policies, credits, refunds, optional services, complaints and disputed balances. Reconcile deposits and prepaid fees to the closing allocation and post-closing service obligation.

Ask counsel and the regulator how families should be notified and contracted under the proposed structure. Cash collected before closing may create a liability rather than free working capital.

8. Test staffing and operating continuity

Reconcile roles, schedules, certification, wages, benefits, vacancies, overtime, contractor status, turnover, leave and recruitment to payroll and the operating model. Identify the responsible person and required coverage for every operating period.

Have employment counsel determine obligations under the proposed transaction. A buyer should not assume employees, certifications, accrued obligations or seller-specific workforce funding move automatically.

9. Review health, safety, incidents and insurance

Review licensing and AHS inspection histories, complaints, non-compliances, corrective actions, serious incidents, emergency plans, food service, sanitation, medication, transportation, playground and equipment records with qualified advisors.

Confirm insurance claims, coverage, exclusions and replacement terms. A current licence or closed inspection item does not establish that all risks are known or insurable for the buyer.

10. Control child, parent and employee information

Alberta's PIPA applies to many private-sector childcare operators. Use staged, necessity-based disclosure, secure access, redaction and legal review before identifiable child, health, parent or employee information enters a transaction data room.

Define permitted use, access, breach response, retention and return or destruction. An NDA alone does not authorize every disclosure, and the buyer should not receive operational records prematurely.

11. Build conditions around the real dependencies

Map licence, municipal approvals, landlord consent, property diligence, financing, funding confirmation, insurance, employee matters, family transition, WCB clearance and closing deliverables to evidence, owners and deadlines.

This guide is educational and is not legal, tax, accounting, employment, privacy, appraisal, business-valuation, licensing, health, safety-code or funding advice. Commercially does not approve childcare licences, capacity, grants, enrolment, staffing or premises.