Supporting the non-profit sector would create places, cut fees

NSW Liberal Party figure Damien Tudehope has sold his chain of daycare centres located on Catholic Church land to premium childcare entrepreneur Brendan McAssey for an undisclosed sum.

The Early Achievers centres located next to Glebe, Leichhardt and Enmore Catholic schools will be taken over on Monday, after the Catholic Church approved the deal to reassign long-term leases granted to Mr Tudehope in 2007.

Parents could face a fee rise of up to 50 per cent. Mr McAssey's Only About Children chain charges $164 a day at other centres for an upmarket service including foreign language classes and nutritionists. Only About Children chief operating officer Fraser Cleghorn said no decision had been made on fees.

Mr Tudehope, who is chief of staff to NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith, said he sought to cash in on the childcare boom in 2007 after being inspired by Kevin Rudd's federal election policy to ''end the double drop-off'' for families by building 260 childcare centres in schools.