Exclusive Top 25 table of nursery groups in latest 'Nursery Chains'

This year, for the first time, Nursery Chains' annual table of the top nursery chains in the UK and Ireland has increased in size to include the names of the top 25 groups, reflecting the strength of the sector.

The directory of all the groups known to us continues to grow with every year, and we have compiled the details of more than 160 nursery groups throughout the country, ranging in size from groups of three to the well-known and established chains.

In terms of the number of childcare places they offer, the top three names are unchanged from last year: Busy Bees reign supreme with 11,831 places, followed by Bright Horizons with 8,484 places and Asquith providing 6,902 places.

However, the success story of the year is Treetops Nurseries. In ninth place the group has added seven more nurseries in the past year through acquisition and has ambitious plans to expand to up to 50 nurseries.

Meanwhile, 15 new groups have added their names to the directory and many of them, along with others listed, have plans for expansion over the next few months, a sign of resilience for the sector in these gloomy economic times.

Elsewhere, we look at what’s in a name, with a feature on how the right branding can reflect a nursery’s ethos, profile five of the chains new to the directory, and look at how some nursery groups share good practice to raise standards and quality across all their settings.