Apiary portfolio company Thrive completes two bolt-on acquisitions

Apiary-backed Thrive Childcare and Education has acquired the Village Nursery Group and Poplars Day Nursery, bringing its total number of settings across North West England and Scotland to 46. These are the fourth and fifth bolt-on acquisitions made by Thrive since Apiary backed the management buyout of the company in 2019.

The award-winning Village Nursery Group cares for more than 1,000 children in eight nurseries across Cheshire and Greater Manchester and was founded in 2005 by Julie and Ian Lightley. The nurseries are well invested, high quality settings and have won several industry awards.

“Village is an incredible group of nurseries,” said Cary Rankin, Thrive CEO. “Julie and Ian have invested in developing great facilities and a fantastic and committed team, which we look forward to working with.”

Poplars Day Nursery is a top-ranked children’s nursery based in Lancashire. Founded more than 35 years ago, it has been extended and fully refurbished over the last five years to provide modern nursery and pre-school services for 68 children.

“We are also delighted to welcome Poplars to the Thrive family,” added Cary Rankin. “This successful, well-equipped and well-run nursery provides a high quality indoor and outdoor environment which gives children the space to play and learn.”