The move has increased Nord Anglia's provision to 73 day nurseries, making it the second-largest nursery operator in the UK after Asquith Court, which has 117 settings. Leapfrog was the third-largest nursery chain in the UK in the winter 2003 edition of Nursery World's sister publication Nursery Chains, with 4,199 places, while Nord Anglia was eighth with 2,832 places.
Derek Mapp, Leapfrog's executive chairman, denied that the buy-out had been prompted by financial difficulties and said the rationale behind the move was to give both groups 'firepower' to acquire more nurseries. He added, 'Both of us realise the opportunity for the sector is through consolidation. It's an opportunity for us to establish a strong chain of nurseries instead of us bidding against each other.'
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