Two financial groups, - Dawney, Day Principal Investments and SwordfishInvestments LLP - have bought the company from the private equitycompany Lyceum Capital. Formerly known as West Private Equity, they hadowned the chain since 2001 following a management buyout.
The Asquith team of chief executive Russell Ford and chief operatingofficer Andy Morris remain in their posts.
The deal has been completed in just two months, after Asquith was put upfor sale in April (News, 3 May).
Guy Naggar, chairman of the Dawney, Day Group said, 'We have beenfollowing day nurseries for a long time because of their strong cashgeneration and high-level of asset backing, and early on we identifiedAsquith as the best platform to invest in on account of its excellentlocations and professional leadership.'
Amit Bhatia, managing partner of Swordfish Investments, added, 'Webelieve demographic trends that underlie the business are robust andwill continue so over the coming years. We aim to bolster the Asquithplatform through organic growth and selective acquisitions.'
Mr Bhatia's father-in-law is the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who wasnamed the UK's richest man in the Sunday Times Rich List 2007 with afortune of 19.25bn.
