Market Roundup: How the market fared in 2019

A massive 72 nursery deals have been reported in the UK press in 2019. The larger operators dominated the headlines by hoovering up smaller settings as part of their aggressive expansion plans – a trend that we have seen emerging over the past five years. However, there was still space for a number of first-time buyers (five reported deals) and also an increase in the number of new settings being built by existing operators (six deals reported).

Big foreign players have had an interest in the UK for some time now, but have often failed in their attempts to gain a foothold. We feel that this has regularly been down to the competitive market driving up prices beyond that which they are willing to pay. However, in 2019, Icelandic group Hjalli Model and French giant La Maison Bleue acquired their first UK settings. They both follow Les Petits Chaperons Rouges, which was the first European operator to enter the UK in 2017 with its acquisition of the 16-setting group Magic Nurseries. Perhaps this latest activity signals an acceptance by these foreign nursery groups that premium prices are worth paying in the UK.