The remaining nursery will be used by Children 1st founder, Margaret Mason, to run her charity from, The Margaret Mason Children 1st Trust.
The deal sees Storal more than double its number of childcare places compared to last November when, according to Nursery World’s Nursery Chains, the group provided 2,360 places.
With the acquisition, Storal now has 53 nurseries, with over 5,000 places.
Mason, who founded Children 1st in 1988, said, ‘I can’t imagine it [the nurseries] in better hands. It’s been my focus for so many years and I’m delighted that it will continue to flourish under Storal’s management.
Sarah Mackenzie, chief executive of Storal, commented, ‘I’ve been following Children 1st for many years. Throughout my career, I’ve looked to Children 1st as one of the great pioneers of high-quality early-years education in the sector. I have enormous admiration for everything Margaret has built and believe she has created an everlasting legacy – both at Children 1st and in the wider sector. After 36 years, she is now handing the reins to us, and this isn’t a responsibility we take lightly. We want to create more milestones in their Magic Story and continue her pioneering work in the sector, supporting and fighting for the teams of educators around the UK who deliver such vital work, and the families, children and communities we serve.’
