Busy Bees, which was the fifth largest group listed in the June issue of the Nursery World supplement Nursery Chains, secured 50m funding from private equity house Gresham Trust in 2000. Since then it has bought Copperbeech Day Nurseries, a group based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and Tibbitots Day Nurseries in Lancashire, in addition to a number of other developments. Including Kindercare, this represents an investment of 27m from Gresham over the last two years.
Kindercare, rated the 11th largest in June's Nursery Chains, owns and operates ten nurseries, of which four provide more than 200 places, and an independent primary school. The group was set up in 1989 by Sarah and Stuart Carr, who will now join Busy Bees in a national management role as part of the acquisition. They have also made a financial investment in the group.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here
