Nursery World - Just Childcare buys First Class Child Care

Rapidly expanding nursery group Just Childcare has increased its places by a third with the acquisition of First Class Child Care's nine settings in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

The chain now operates 31 nurseries and provides 2,056 places across the North of England, and is looking to grow even further in 2016. Christie & Co was the agent for the sale.

Since winning financial backing from venture capitalist Phoenix Equity Partners, Just Childcare has bought 16 individual nurseries in one year, the last being Kingfisher Nursery in the Wirral.

david-and-jacqueline-johnson This is the first time it has bought an existing chain and, according to owner David Johnson (pictured right with Jacqueline Johnson), there are others in the pipeline.

He told Nursery World, ‘It’s a mix of group and individual nurseries we are likely to acquire, but we’ll see what comes to the market. We have our eye on the Midlands and hopefully will start expanding there later this year.’

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