Busy Bees has acquired Kids 1st Nurseries, the chain of 13 nursery sites across the North East, for a reported £25-30m.
Kids 1st has 11 nurseries across North East England in locations such as Durham, Darlington and Hexham. All of its inspected nurseries are currently rated outstanding by Ofsted.
Busy Bees owns around 250 nurseries across England, Scotland and Wales and a further 50 in Asia. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan bought the group in 2013 for a reported £220m.