Popular Montessori childcare chain is heading 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.
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.
Nine Precious Cargo centers in Adelaide were declared bankrupt on Tuesday
