The Family First children’s nursery group has now extended its geographic reach to the south coast, having previously expanded out of London into Kent, Surrey, Essex and the West Midlands.
The group, which is one of the fastest growing nursery groups in the UK, now stands at 56 nurseries, having acquired 13 nurseries since the start of the year. This brings the total number of full-time nursery places to over 4,000, supported by more than 1,200 staff.
Ollie Humphries, CEO of Family First, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to bring the new nurseries into our team and to learn from their own experiences, as we strive to be outstanding in every location.”
The nurseries joining the group this year are the Adventure Pre-School in Carshalton, Rainbow Nursery in Kentish Town, Woodlands Daycare in Oxsted, Scribbles in East Finchley, three Play Away nurseries in Southampton, Kloisters in Rochester, Ellingham House in Ringwood, Stationhouse and Lakehouse Nurseries in Portishead, Greenfields in Shipston on Stour, and Drayton House School in Guildford.
They join the pre-Christmas acquisitions of Freshfields in Stratford-upon-Avon, Ashleigh House in Atherstone, and Little Explorers in Rochester.
Family First recently scooped the NMT Nursery Business Development Award for the way in which the group was able to scale up in such a short time frame, while bringing the staff along, protecting each local brand, enhancing the proposition for parents and driving financial performance.
Family First’s Corporate Development Director Craig Grant added: “We are now entering into new territories with an ambition to reach over 80 nurseries through acquisition by the end of the year. We see this as an amazing opportunity to create a sizable new quality childcare provider run by managers who are empowered to run their own nurseries.”
Family First Chief Childcare and Operations Officer Dianne Lumsden-Earle said: “This is very exciting and the nurseries that have just joined our family fit our ethos and beliefs. The nurseries are all beautiful nurseries that complement our current portfolio. I am looking forward to working with each of the nurseries and continuing our journey to offer outstanding childcare to every child in our care.”