ABC, which has also recently swallowed up more childcare businesses in the US and now has 2,320 settings worldwide, said the Busy Bees voucher operation was 'a new business segment' that could be applied 'across the global childcare market'.
Eddy Groves, the chief executive of ABC, indicated that the purchase of Busy Bees - the UK's sixth largest nursery chain, with 46 settings - was 'a starting point for further expansion into the fragmented UK market and throughout Europe'.
Mr Groves told a press conference, 'We have been taking definite steps to enter into the UK childcare sector for some time, building on our experience in the US.' He described the Lichfield-based chain as 'a well-established company whose committed and experienced management team will remain in place following the acquisition'.
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