Nursery World - Thrive Childcare and Education acquires The Village Nursery group

Thrive Childcare and Education has acquired The Village Nursery group in Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

From left: Former owner of The Village Nursery Julie Lightly, director of operations Emma Jones, CEO of Thrive Cary Rankin, Thrive chief financial operator Will Newton and, and former owner of The Village Nursery Ian Lightley

Founded in 2005 in Alsager, near Stoke-on-Trent, by Julie and Ian Lightley, when they were seeking a nursery for their own family, the Village Nursery Group grew to nine settings, employing 250 people and offering 664 places.

Thrive has purchased the eight nurseries and one pre-school in Alsager, Crewe, Warrington, Knutsford, and Trafford Park.

While Thrive will operate the nurseries, they have entered into a sale and leaseback arrangement with Jurassic Portfolios for the freehold sites within the group.

The deal means that Thrive now operates more than 40 settings across the North of England and Scotland.

Thrive CEO Cary Rankin said, ‘Village Nursery Group is an incredible group of nurseries, all with either “good” or “outstanding” Ofsted ratings. Julie and Ian have invested in developing great facilities and a fantastic and committed team, who we look forward to working with.’

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