Nursery World - Busy Bees Childcare moves into New Zealand

Busy Bees Childcare, the UK largest nursery provider, has announced its first acquisition in New Zealand and is expanding its sites in Australia.

Busy Bees Childcare has bought the Think Childcare in Australia - Pictured is the setting in Aveley , a suburb of Perth

Busy Bees has bought the New Zealand-based Provincial Education group, which operates 75 settings, providing more than 5,500 places across the North and South Islands.

The acquisition of Provinical Education, the third largest early childcare education provider in New Zealand, from majority shareholder Waterman Private Capital, Ascentro Capital and its founders, is expected to complete at the end of this month (October).

As part of the deal, Provincial Education’s management team will continue in their roles.

Busy Bees Childcare has also taken over the Think Childcare Group of 71 sites and more than 7,100 places in Australia.

Together the deals mean the nursery group will operate 222 settings across Australia and New Zealand. This is in addition to 417 sites in Europe, 127 in North America and 83 in Asia.

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