Scotland's largest independent nursery group, Happitots, has merged with a fledgling nursery chain to strengthen its position.
The Bertram Nurseries Group, the name of the new holding company, now has 15 nurseries offering 1,100 places, with a further five acquisitions in the pipeline.
The new majority shareholder and managing director is Graeme Scott, owner of three nurseries in Scotland, which have merged with Happitots to form the new company.
The company's founder, Heather Gilchrist, who opened her first nursery 11 years ago, retains a 10 per cent stake and a position as chairman and will remain involved in the day-to-day business.
Ms Gilchrist said, 'I've been the sole owner for ten years and it's a lot of responsibility. This is the best I could have hoped for, because I still want to be involved. We've been the largest Scottish independent nursery group for a few years and with this we can still grow and grow.'
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