Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, analysed and compared the impact of the pandemic on five Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) markets in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Australia.
It found that the pandemic has ‘undoubtedly’ raised the profile of the sector, giving providers and practitioners the long overdue recognition they deserve.
The report states, ‘With a wider awakening and awareness of the importance of high-quality ECEC provision, comes new interest from prospective investors which adds to the demand from private equity, high-net-worth individuals, and philanthropic investors, all of whom face direct mergers and acquisitions competition from a wider range of ECEC trade buyers.’
As well as looking at acquisition sentiment during the pandemic, Christie & Co made market predications for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.
Courteney Donaldson, report author and managing director at Christie & Co, said, ‘It’s brilliant to see many governments across the world finally crediting the vital work provided by ECEC providers, with many publicly applauding the dedication and collaboration of ECEC providers and the entire global ECEC workforce.
‘Global ECEC markets have seen much interest and activity during recent years, with value growth and prices indices having moved forward year-on-year since 2016. The pandemic has notably raised the profile of the sector, resulting in continued movement and market transactions across the global ECEC business property market throughout the pandemic.’
Workforce issues
The effect of Covid-19 on fiscal support packages; birth and population rates; ECEC global market macro and micro factors, alongside demand, supply, and political stability was also analysed.
Researchers found that providers encountered similar workforce and occupancy challenges due to self-isolation requirements and reductions in occupancy. These arose mainly because of parental nervousness during Covid-19; increases in unemployment and, in some cases, regulatory restrictions imposed on operating capacities and staffing ratios.
The report also highlights concerns relating to financial sustainability and the well-being of the global ECEC workforce, as well as the wellbeing and developmental gaps in children’s attainment levels.
Unemployment rates
The USA saw the highest rates of unemployment out of all the five countries, falling from an unparalleled peak of 14.8 per cent in April 2020 to 6.7 per cent in December 2020.
Financial support packages were introduced in all countries and fiscal support measures, in relation to job protection, varied from country to country.
Christie & Co remarked that as the fiscal support measures end, sufficient funding needs to be made available so that the ECEC providers can meet the increased costs of delivery; recruit, train and retain qualified staff and support children throughout their early years.
It also said that high-quality ECEC provision will be pivotal to each nation’s future success, not just in economic terms but also with direct regard to health, well-being and attainment prospects for children who have seen much disruption during their early years due to Covid-19 and the wider generation of Covid-19 babies, toddlers, pre-schooler, children, and young generations overall.
Ms Donaldson said, ‘Throughout the pandemic, we’ve spoken with our clients and frontline operators and are so overwhelmed by the dedication, collaboration and positive spirit they’ve held throughout what has been a truly unexpected time. We’re conscious of the hurdles ECEC providers across the world have faced since March 2020 yet, despite immense challenges, they have truly gone above and beyond, evidencing how essential ECEC is as part of each country’s essential services.
‘We’re proud to launch this independent, self-funded report, which analyses how five focus countries have worked through these unprecedented times and show that, despite differences, the key thing that unites this resilient sector is the willingness, drive, determination, commitment and collaboration of providers and practitioners to deliver the essential service of high-quality ECEC throughout the most challenging of times.’
