Child’s play for nursery group after acquisition

NURSERY operator Kindercare has been acquired by a growing children’s care group.

Treetops Nurseries, a Derby-based operator has bought the business, which was established in 1993 by Janet Standeven.

Kindercare, which is registered in Liversedge in West Yorkshire, turned over £5.6m for the year to 31 December 2015, up from £5.2m the year before, with pretax profits of £1.5m.

It operates in the ‘golden triangle’ of Leeds, York and Harrogate.

The acquisition adds 10 sites and 900 children’s places to Treetops’ portfolio, as it looks to grow its presence in the UK from 49 nurseries.

Treetops provides spaces for around 9,000 children.

Charles Eggleston, chief executive of Treetops Nurseries, said: “I am absolutely delighted to be welcoming KinderCare into the Treetops family. The nurseries are very well known in Yorkshire and complement our already popular nurseries in Pudsey and Headingley, as well as adding new locations in Harrogate, York, Rippon and East Keswick.

“KinderCare has a fantastic reputation in the area, delivering good quality childcare to well over 1,000 families – something that we will work hard with the teams to maintain and keep improving.

“This acquisition is the first in our 2016 expansion plans and sees Treetops cement its position as one of the top nursery providers in the UK.”

Khush Purewal at KPMG Corporate Finance, alongside Jonathan Turner of KPMG’s Leeds private client team, and Dahren Naidoo, corporate partner at Freeths, advised Kindercare on the deal.

He said: “Kindercare has an outstanding reputation for the delivery of high quality childcare and this is an excellent acquisition for Treetops as part of their wider strategy to expand their portfolio.

“KPMG continues to focus on this sector and this deal, following so quickly after our sale of Kids 1st Nurseries to Busy Bees, highlights the current dynamics which sees a number of operators and new market entrants seeking to acquire and consolidate high quality operators in what remains a highly fragmented market.”

Dahren Naidoo said: “I am sure as many parents in the Yorkshire region will testify, Kindercare is a fantastic business and this is yet another example of an owner managed business in this region delivering prolonged success – we are obviously delighted to have advised the Standeven family on what is a significant transaction for them personally and the wider sector generally.”