Three directors leave Family First as one of UK's largest nursery groups 'evolves' its leadership team
Katy Morton
Friday, September 22, 2023
The chief executive of Family First, along with two other directors, have left the nursery group.
Ollie Humphries, the chief executive of Family First resigned from the role earlier this month, shortly after the resignation of the nursery group’s corporate development and strategy officer, Craig Grant in August, and chief childcare officer, Dianne Lumsden-Earl who left at the end of June.
All three joined the company in 2021. Since then, the nursery group has rapidly expanded, growing from just 10 settings in March 2021 to more than 100 this year.
It leaves Family First, which is backed by August Equity, with one director, Warwick Thresher, the chief financial officer.
A spokesperson for the nursery group said that as it ‘moves into the next phase of its journey, it is evolving its leadership team to support the business with its ongoing expansion strategy.’
They added that a ‘new chief executive will be appointed in due course.’
Family First was established in 2019 by Andy Morris, former chief executive of Asquith Nurseries. Morris resigned as chairman of the group in September 2021.
A spokesperson for Family First said, ‘Family First has grown over the last 18 months, surpassing 100 nurseries in April this year and we are incredibly proud of the team for all their hard work throughout their time with us.
‘As we move into the next phase of our journey, we are evolving our leadership team to support the business with its ongoing expansion strategy.
‘A new chief executive will be appointed in due course, following a robust recruitment process to find the right person to lead Family First into the next phase of our journey.
‘August Equity remain very committed to the success of Family First and these changes have no impact on our dedication to delivering the highest quality childcare for children in all our nurseries.’
Family First was ranked as the fourth largest nursery group in the UK in Nursery World's 2023 Nursery Chains league table, published in March.
