Nursery World - Looming large (1)

As Nord Anglia picks up the Jigsaw pieces and Leapfrogs its competitors, Simon Vevers hears what key players think that the latest nursery chain buy-out means for the market as a whole Nord Anglia Education's swoop to buy 28 Jigsaw nurseries for 13.25m on 28 May - the day when directors of that ailing chain called in the administrators - has made it the largest UK nursery group, following its acquisition of Leapfrog's 39 nurseries last month.

Nord Anglia Education's swoop to buy 28 Jigsaw nurseries for 13.25m on 28 May - the day when directors of that ailing chain called in the administrators - has made it the largest UK nursery group, following its acquisition of Leapfrog's 39 nurseries last month.

While Nord Anglia acquired Leap- frog in its entirety, including a top management team which it regards highly, it has cherry-picked the 28 Jigsaw nurseries, leaving eight to be disposed of by the administrators, accountants KPMG.

A KPMG spokeswoman says, 'We sold 28 of the nurseries on the day Jigsaw went into administration as part of the administration process. Regarding the eight remaining nurseries, we are in negotiations at the moment with interested parties. We are obliged to report back to creditors within three months of being appointed.' She declined to comment on Jigsaw's debt levels, but added, 'Generically speaking, if companies are not able to pay their creditors, administrators are called in.'

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