The Old Station Nursery Group now owns 30 settings across the Midlands and South of England following the acquisition of Sunhill Daycare Nurseries Group, a group of 11 nurseries that was established by Geoff Chapman in 1991.
The nurseries are based in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, London, and Suffolk.
One of the top 25 largest UK nursery groups, The Old Station Nursery Group, led by managing director Sarah Steel, became a subsidiary of the international childcare operator La Maison Bleue last year. La Maison Bleue was founded in 2004 by Sylvain Forestier and Antonia Ryckbosch and is the leading childcare provider in Switzerland and the third largest provider in both France and Luxembourg.
Ms Steel said that she was excited to welcome the 11 nurseries into their ‘very special community’. ‘As a group, we strive to continue to innovate ways in which we provide the highest standard of learning and care to all children,’ she added. ‘We look forward to working closely with each nursery to enhance the expertise and potential that lies there.’
Chatsworth Schools, which predominantly owns settings in London and the Home Counties, has acquired the Tiny Toes Day Nurseries group of three nurseries in Oxfordshire bringing the group’s total to 12 independent schools and nurseries. The acquisitions were supported by private equity investor Synova Capital.
Anita Gleave, founder and CEO of Chatsworth Schools, said, ‘We see it as our duty to build the most amazing learning experiences for all of our children and to enable innovative, caring and child focused education. We look forward to working with the children, parents and staff at Tiny Toes to continue to deliver this.’
Fast-expanding nursery group Welcome Nurseries, which was established just over a year ago, has added two more settings to its portfolio bringing its total to 15 nurseries. The group, which predominantly has nurseries in the north of England, has purchased Quackers Kids Day Nursery in Stalybridge in Greater Manchester and Lysth Nursery in Wandsworth (pictured below) in London. It is the first acquisition that the nursery group has made in the capital.
Welcome Nurseries has six further acquisitions at exchange, exceeding its original target of 2,000 childcare places by the end of 2020. ‘We intend to double the size of Welcome Nurseries to 4,000 childcare places by mid-2021 and become a top 10 group in 2022,’ said head of childcare and education Linda Cuddy.
Meanwhile, Hampshire-based Hopscotch Day Nurseries Group has acquired three Southampton nurseries from the White Horse Childcare Group. The nursery group, which was founded in 2005, now owns eight settings in the south of Hampshire.
Hopscotch founder and managing director Freya Derrick said, ‘For 15 years the incredible team have overseen the growth of the Hopscotch family; delivering exceptional care and early-years development that is widely recognised as sector leading within our region.
‘This acquisition will enable us to bring the Hopscotch philosophy to around 500 young families in the Eastleigh, Shirley, and Portswood areas, providing vital early years opportunities and ultimately sustaining around 90 jobs during these challenging times.’
Finally, North West London-based Bright Little Stars Nursery has added a new nursery in Barnet to its group. Its latest acquisition brings the total of settings owned by the group, founded in 2012, to five.
