Popular Montessori childcare chain plunges into liquidation in South Australia
- Childcare centers in Adelaide are bankrupt
A chain of childcare centers based on the Montessori teaching method has gone bankrupt.
Nine Precious Cargo centers in Adelaide were declared bankrupt on Tuesday.
Adelaide-based business consultancy Heard Phillips Lieberenz is now in charge of the company’s liquidation, with directors Andrew Heard and Anthony Phillips appointed as liquidators.
Cheryl Shigrov founded Precious Cargo Education in 2006 after volunteering at her son’s Montessori preschool as a playgroup coordinator and teacher’s assistant.
“I am also a strong supporter of better pay and conditions for teachers, including through the United Voice union in the childcare sector,” she said.
“My vision is to create a business model that gives back to the community and offers a unique and interconnected array of businesses that support the betterment of humanity.”
A chain of childcare centers based on the Montessori teaching method has gone bankrupt
The affected centers are in Blackwood, Collinswood, Lockleys, Marion, Woodville Park and Westbourne.
An initial announcement of the liquidation, which affected 11 centres, was made in early June, two days before the Fair Work Commission awarded a 15 per cent pay rise to childcare workers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced in August that his government would set aside $3.6 billion to fund this double-digit wage increase, with the first 10 percent increase taking effect in December, followed by the remaining 5 percent in December 2025.
This will see childcare worker salaries rise by $103 per week before Christmas, rising to at least $155 per week from December 2025.
Ms. Shigrov clarified in June that financial problems had led to her closing her childcare centers.
“In recent years there have been some challenges that the company has not been able to overcome and that have been experienced across the industry,” she told her Facebook followers.
Nine Precious Cargo centers in Adelaide were declared bankrupt on Tuesday
‘In my role as director, I take responsibility for not being able to meet these challenges.
“To our children, families and employees, I apologize that my journey has come to an end, but I ask that you work with the administrators and me to find a path forward to preserve and return precious cargo towards a flourishing entity.’
Mayfield Childcare announced in July it would buy seven Precious Cargo centers in Adelaide for $4.8 million.
The deal included the branding and intellectual property for the centers at Blackwood, Collinswood, Lockleys, Marion, St Peters, Westbourne Park and Woodville Park.
It told the Australian Securities Exchange it had declined to take over the other four Precious Cargo centers that were in liquidation.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Heard Phillips Lieberenz to clarify the status of the childcare centers in the deal.