Childcare group makes its third acquisition of 2019

Woodlands Day Nursery

The Just Childcare group – which operates nurseries in the North West, Yorkshire and South West – has unveiled its third acquisition of 2019, with the addition of Funcare Ltd, for an undisclosed sum.

Previous deals include Stonehouse Childcare in Leyland and Kiddy Factory Nursery in Speke, last month.

Funcare – which is made up of three nurseries in Harrogate – sees Just Childcare extend its portfolio to 53 settings and further strengthen its presence in Yorkshire.

Just Childcare, based in Denton, Tameside, now operates four nurseries in Harrogate, including Ofsted Outstanding setting Tiny Teapots Private Day Nursery and Pre-school.

The Harrogate group comprises Woodlands Day Nursery, Play Away Day Nursery and Little Dragons Day Nursery.

The settings have a combined capacity of 203 child places and are all rated Ofsted ‘Good’.

Just Childcare now provides more than 3,852 child places across its group of nurseries, all of which are Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’.

The group has seen significant growth from just seven nurseries in 2015, having celebrated the acquisition of its 50th setting earlier this year.

Chief executive David Johnson said: “We’re always on the lookout for high-quality settings to add to our growing portfolio, so we’re delighted to be able to welcome Funcare Ltd to our family.

“Their nurseries have won multiple local awards for excellence and have fantastic reputations within the community.

“We look forward to working with their teams, alongside the Ofsted Outstanding Nursery we already operate in Harrogate, to provide exceptional care and education to the town.

“The year so far has been an exciting one.

“We’re on track with our expansion plans and with the further funding we’re currently raising we hope to make more acquisitions throughout 2019 and beyond whilst continuing to invest in our existing settings.”

The corporate team in the Manchester office of Gateley advised Just Childcare on the acquisition, which completed last week.

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