Busy Bees entrepreneurs praised for their Asian enterprise

STAFFORDSHIRE childcare entrepreneurs Marg Randles and John Woodward are overseeing the expansion of their award-winning Busy Bees nursery group into South East Asia.

The group is already the largest childcare group in the UK and it is now looking to replicate that success in the new territory.

The enterprising approach adopted by the pair was one of the reasons why they impressed judges in this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year contest.

The duo won the Midlands final of the contest in June and this month flew the flag for the region at the national final.

The judges said they were impressed that the pair had identified opportunities in a new market and were prepared to take advantage of that.

The firm operates around 60 nurseries in South East Asia and is looking to increase that number considerably.

Andrew Spence, Partner and Midlands Entrepreneur of The Year Leader at EY, said: “Having grown the business from scratch to become the UK’s leading childcare provider, Marg and John’s entrepreneurial spirit is to be admired.

“They had a simple aspiration to create better outcomes for young children through exceptional care and education. Over 30 years later and following huge success in the UK, they’ve been able to grow their business internationally by making it relevant to other markets, particularly in Asia.

“Our UK judges were particularly impressed by their enduring entrepreneurial spirit, continued motivation and commitment to growth, which even extended to moving to Singapore to oversee their expansion.”

Ms Randles said: “I am very privileged that for 34 years I have been involved in shaping a great business delivering high quality childcare for children. We are very proud of our achievements and for this to be marked with the EOY national award is the icing on the cake.”
 
Mr Woodward, who is currently in Singapore working with the South East Asia team, added: “We are delighted to receive this award as it acknowledges the consistent delivery of a quality childcare service to parents and children and the vision for global growth of reflection of Busy Bees fantastic achievements.  

“We have only been able to achieve great things because of the dedication and devotion of many, many people that work tirelessly to provide quality childcare and education for our children. It’s been a thoroughly enjoyable process and we’d like to thank the EY team and the judges, for their acknowledgement and support throughout.”