Busy Bees uncertainty sparks job fears
Cathy Wallace
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Fears of job losses and nursery closures have surrounded the news that the future of the UK's biggest private childcare provider could be under threat.
Busy Bees, which was bought by Australian company ABC Learning in December 2006, currently has 133 nurseries. Last week ABC's share prices plummeted and the company has appointed Goldman Sachs to deal with expressions of interest for parts of its business.
Early reports indicate private equity firms might be interested in buying up some or all of ABC's portfolio.
It is not known whether Busy Bees will be affected, although managing director John Woodward has insisted the UK organisation is "robust" and the future for the company is "bright".
Tricia Pritchard, senior policy officer at the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses, said: "This doesn't say much for the childcare market. When Busy Bees was first sold it caused a lot of discussion. Nobody wants to stop progression but we had concerns about big takeovers, particularly overseas takeovers. It creates nervousness."
She added: "I am saddened as Busy Bees on its own had an excellent reputation for quality childcare, and an excellent reputation as an employer.
"A big concern I have is the impact on staffing. This is all yet to be determined but will it mean closures? Are we going to lose nursery places, which we badly need, and are we also going to see a lot of workers being made redundant? That would be tragic."
The news comes just eight months after Busy Bees bought Leapfrog Day Nurseries, in a £31.2m deal for 88 nurseries.
Steve Alexander, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said his understanding was that the Leapfrog chain's actual value was twice that figure, leading him to express concerns about the sustainability of the UK's childcare market.
Woodward said: "We are aware of the situation in the Australian market, which developed this week. However, Busy Bees Childcare in the UK is a robust organisation that has grown over 25 years, setting high childcare standards.
"In addition, Busy Bees has a large share of the UK's childcare voucher market. It is clear that we have a great business with a bright future."
