Private nurseries are valued at £2bn

The UK private nursery sector is now worth a staggering £2bn, an increase of 72 per cent since 2000. But the 2004 Market Assessment report by market analysts Key Note has warned that the falling birth rate and competition from Government childcare initiatives could force some smaller providers to close. The report values the whole childcare sector at £3.79bn, up by a third in four years (see box). Key Note forecast continued buoyancy with growth of 24 per cent by 2009, when the total market is expected to be worth £5.03bn.