Busy Bees expands into South-East Asia with acquisition of 60 nurseries
Monday, February 2, 2015
Busy Bees, the UK’s largest childcare provider, has acquired its first international nurseries, buying 60 settings in Singapore and Malaysia.
The group has purchased 48 nurseries in Singapore operating under the following brands: Singapore’s Brighton Montessori, Learning Vision, Odyssey, The Global Pre-School, Pat’s Schoolhouse and Small Wonder and Learning Horizon.
It has also acquired 12 nurseries in Malaysia, along with Singapore’s Asian International College, which offers training for early childhood educators.
The nurseries, which in total provide more than 6,500 childcare places, and the college, were previously owned by Knowledge Universe.
In 2013, Knowledge Universe, Busy Bees’ largest majority shareholder, sold its share of the business to Teachers’ Private Capital, the investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pensions Fund.
With the deal, Busy Bees now owns 297 nurseries across the UK and South-East Asia, providing more than 21,500 places.
John Woodward, co-founder and group managing director of Busy Bees, (pictured, second on the right), said, ‘This is a wonderful start to the year and an exciting new chapter of the Busy Bees story.This opportunity has arisen because of the success of our brand in the UK. Our nurseries have always been locally driven and we’ve worked hard to develop a national network of quality childcare. We’re now taking this winning formula on to an international platform.
‘We’ve been incredibly fortunate to work closely with June Rusden, chief executive for Knowledge Universe Singapore, and her management team over the last six years and there is a natural synergy between us.’
He added, ‘It’s an incredibly inspiring time for us all and we look forward to the challenges ahead. This acquisition demonstrates our confidence in the childcare sector in Asia and further afield and, with such an experienced and dedicated management team in both continents, it promises to be an incredibly positive year ahead.’
June Rusdon, now chief executive of Busy Bees South East Asia, (pictured, far right) said, ‘We are delighted to have become part of the Busy Bees family. The company has an enviable reputation in the UK and we share the same vision and ambition. We absolutely agree that the pre-school years are critical in building the foundation to life-long learning and that developing and retaining the best talent with aptitude, skill sets and learning qualifications is key to providing exceptional childcare and pre-school education.
‘This union has created wonderful new opportunities for us all and we look forward to achieving great things with a renewed energy and perspective. It will enable us to continue to flourish and provide more quality care and education to more families.’
