Bertram Nursery Group has appointed Cary Rankin as managing director – England, to lead on its plans to expand.
Bertram has 36 nurseries with sites throughout Scotland and the north of England, as well as an early years training division.
Mr Rankin has held a number of posts in the early years sector, most recently as regional operations director with the Kidsunlimited Group between 2006 and 2013.
‘One of my immediate priorities is to meet the teams to look at where and how we might further invest in the people, environment and resources,’ he said. ‘It is important to identify and recognise the talent within our business and work with the existing leadership teams to ensure we share best practice across our sites and keep people feeling engaged and inspired.’
The group wants to expand through acquisitions of existing settings or small nursery chains, building on the ‘unique character’ of each nursery it buys and investing in it.
He added, ‘Bertram has a good reputation and after meeting the board this felt like a perfect cultural fit. I am really looking forward to engaging with the teams in each of the nurseries and helping them reach their full potential. I want to build on the existing quality and consistency of the brand while still embracing the uniqueness of each of the individual nurseries.’
In Nursery Chains 2014, Bertram was listed as the eighth largest group in the UK with 2,988 places and 740 employees. The group said it was planning four more new settings this year and expansion of BNG Early Years Training division.
