Editor's view

After a year of relatively little activity in terms of nursery group acquisitions and mergers, 2006 has finished with a definite bang - witness the £70m sale of Busy Bees to the Australian giant ABC Learning Centres, the largest childcare provider in the world (see News, page 4). The UK private nursery sector has been demoralised and fearful for its future in recent years, but this investment and vote of confidence from abroad, plus the back-up from a fast-growing company that is strong in several continents, could help to inject some optimism. It is highly unlikely that ABC boss 'Fast...