It's still very tough out there, of course, but there are definitely afew signs that the market may have stabilised and the worst may be over.After five years of over-supply, the trend in average occupancy levelshas been reversed to rise in the past year, according to Laing andBuisson's latest survey (see News, page 4).
Several big deals among the nursery chains also give cause for optimismthat they may be looking to expand once more. Kidsunlimited's managementbuyout team(NW, 17 April) has bold plans for opening up to ninenurseries a year; Bertram's acquisition of Holyrood is being accompaniedby a 20m expansion fund (NW, 24 April); and this week, we reporton Just Learning's 10m 'acquisition chest' (News, page 5).
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