European nursery chain LPCR buys Head Start group

Head Start’s owners Julie Moinet and her partner Gary, who have ran the nursery group for 25 years, have sold the business to retire.

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This is Les Petits Chaperons Rouges’ (LPCR) third UK nursery acquisition after buying Kiddi Caru and Magic Nurseries last year.

LPCR is the brand name of European family-owned childcare provider Grandir.

Established in 1993, Head Start Day Nursery operates four settings in Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard, Daventry and Northampton.

With the acquisition of the new nurseries, LPCR now has 40 settings in the UK, offering around 3,430 places. Across France and Germany, it operates more than 300 nurseries.

Julie Moinet and her partner Gary said, ‘Head Start has been our baby for so long that when we made the decision to retire, we were looking for a professional, reflective and experienced provider to ensure the business was in safe hands. We are delighted to pass the baton to LPCR who, we believe, will ensure the quality nurseries will develop and grow in the future, to the benefit of the children, staff and parents.’

Adrian Moore, chief executive of Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries, which is owned by LPCR, said, 'We believe that the four Head Start Day Nurseries fit perfectly into our ethos of providing outstanding childcare solutions and we are excited for them to be part of the Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries Group. We are impressed by their dedication to early years education, their focus and their experienced staff’s on-going commitment to the children in their care.’

Nick Brown, head of brokerage of childcare at Christie & Co, who handed the sale, added, ‘Having known Gary and Julie Moinet for many years and in fact helped them in building their group, they approached us wanting to explore the avenue of retirement. This was all dependent on price and the quality of the buyer as they were super keen to make sure that what they had built up over the years was going to be in safe hands.

‘Via a highly confidential sales process, this group attracted a significant amount of interest from numerous corporate and regional operators from the UK and beyond, which resulted in the owners achieving both of the goals they set on price and the quality of the buyer they were looking for.’