11/12/2018 | Childcare & Education

Nursery group Head Start sold to leading European childcare provider

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has completed on the sale of Head Start Day Nurseries, an Ofsted rated ‘Outstanding’ provider with four high quality settings across the UK, to Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries Group which is owned by Grandir UK Limited, a leading family-owned European childcare company.


The well-established and popular group comprises of nurseries in Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard, Daventry and Northampton, which provide the highest level of childcare, facilities, and strong teams of qualified and experienced staff.

Having started the business in 1993 and opened their first nursery in 1994, Julie Moinet has successfully operated and expanded the group with her partner Gary over the past 25 years and they decided that now was the right time to sell, after finding the right buyer. They comment, “Head Start has been our ‘baby’ for so long that when we made the decision to retire, we were looking for a professional, reflective and experienced provider to ensure the business was in safe hands. We are delighted to pass the baton to LPCR who, we believe, will ensure the quality nurseries will develop and grow in the future, to the benefit of the children, staff and parents.”

Adrian Moore, CEO at Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries Group comments, “We believe that the four Head Start Day Nurseries fit perfectly into our ethos of providing outstanding childcare solutions and we are excited for them to be part of the Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries Group. We are impressed by their dedication to early years education,  their focus and their experienced staff’s on-going commitment to the children in their care.”

Nick Brown, Head of Brokerage – Childcare at Christie & Co comments, “Having known Gary and Julie Moinet for many years and in fact helped them in building their group, they approached us wanting to explore the avenue of retirement. This was all dependent on price and the quality of the buyer as they were super keen to make sure that what they had built up over the years was going to be in safe hands.

“Via a highly confidential sales process, this group attracted a significant amount of interest from numerous corporate and regional operators from the UK and beyond, which resulted in the owners achieving both of the goals they set on price and the quality of the buyer they were looking for.”