Just one week after Nursery Chains was published last November the merger of Asquith Nurseries and Kidsunlimited, two of the largest nursery groups in the UK and Ireland, was called off at the final hour.
If the deal had gone ahead the new company, the Nursery Years Group, would have been the UK and Ireland's largest chain.
We ran an updated version of the league table that week (Nursery World, 11 November 2004), returning Nord Anglia to the top spot.
Six months on, Nord Anglia is still the clear market leader with 9,736 places. Asquith Nurseries remains its nearest rival and stays in second position with 6,466 places. However, despite the fact that Nord Anglia is nearly one-third larger in terms of places, both groups have just over 100 settings each. Kidsunlimited is at number five with 4,307 places and 46 nurseries.
There are two new entries to the league table in our summer 2005 issue. The acquisition of Academy Childcare, completed in January this year, has propelled the nursery group Creative Education, trading under the brand name Primary Steps, to its position as the tenth largest chain.
Around the same time, the group acquired the Wokingham-based Happy House Educational Care, gaining around 200 places and three nurseries. Then in April Primary Steps added just under 250 more places when it bought the five-strong Head Start Nursery Group with nurseries in Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard, Northampton and Peterborough.
Primary Steps' move to buy up smaller chains means the group has grown to 34 settings and 1,910 places, mainly at locations in London and the south-east.
Cornwall-based Happy Days Nurseries comes in at number 19.
However, the remainder of the group positions in the league table are largely unchanged since our winter 2004 issue. The number of childcare places and settings owned or managed by each group appears to have stabilised, for the time being, reflecting perhaps the uncertain nature of the private and independent nursery sector at this time in the wake of Government plans to roll out children's centres.
In fact the number of places for seven of the 20 nursery groups in the top 20 nursery chains is the same as our winter 2004 issue, and ten of the nursery groups listed have not expanded their number of settings at all.
Six months ago, the total number of childcare places for the 20 largest chains was 53,662. For June this year the figure stands at 56,217, a jump of only 2,555 places. And the combined number of owned or managed settings by the top 20 chains has only risen from 737 to 773 in the last six months.
Meanwhile, Teddies Nurseries, part of BUPA Childcare, announced its intention last month to sell nine of its nurseries. However, the group says it has 'no plans' to sell any of its remaining 36 settings. The nine nurseries offer a total of 529 places. The sale will cut the total number of childcare places from 2,627 to 2,098, resulting in the group dropping to ninth position.
Further down the table, Wind in the Willows, a new entry six months ago, now has 17 Neighbourhood Nurseries. It is also involved with five children's centres and a family support centre.
UK AND IRELAND'S 20 LARGEST NURSERY CHAINS
Position 2005 (2004)* Nursery chain Places SETTINGS
1 (1) Nord Anglia 9,736 101
2 (2) Asquith Nurseries 6,466 109
3 (3) Just Learning 5,847 67
4 (4) Bright Horizons F S 5,326 97
5 (6) Kidsunlimited 4,307 46
6 (5) Busy Bees 4,229 60
7 (7) Buffer Bear 2,802 47
8 (9) Teddies 2,627 45
9 (8) Child Base 2,560 33
10 (NEW) Primary Steps 1,910 34
11 (11) The Childcare Corporation 1,673 17
12 (10) Ravenstone House 1,436 13
13 (12) Treetops Private Day Nurseries 1,228 18
14 (14) Wind in the Willows (Managt) 1,110 17
15 (15) Toad Hall Nursery Group 949 16
16 (19) Happitots 872 12
17 (17) Manor Tree Group 806 8
18 (16) Childcare Scotland 796 9
19 (NEW) Happy Days Day Nurseries 770 15
20 (18) Nunu 767 9
