There has been a frenzy of acquisitive activity among the largest nursery chains this year. The 25 largest nursery groups in the UK and Ireland now own or manage more than 1,000 settings.
Considered together, the largest nursery groups have expanded in size, both in terms of the places they provide and nurseries operated.
The 25 chains in this year's league table offer a combined total of 76,643 places across 1,022 settings, up from 71,382 places across 952 nurseries in Nursery Chains' 2011 edition.
Busy Bees has held the top spot as the country's largest nursery group for many years now, but 2012 saw the chain steam ahead of its closest rivals. It now offers nearly twice as many childcare places as Bright Horizons, the second biggest chain in the league table.
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