One of the UK’s largest founder-owned nursery groups, with over 20 settings across the East of England and East London, has been acquired by AcadeMedia. Grant Thornton offered sell-side advice throughout the deal.
Founded over 20 years ago by Steven Davies and David Saunders from a single site, Chestnut has grown into a group of 21 nurseries spanning three regions: Cambridge, Norfolk and East London. The business has remained independent owned throughout, making it one of the largest few founder-owned nursery groups operating at this scale in the UK.
For AcadeMedia, the acquisition represents their first move into the UK nursery market, adding a proven, regionally diverse early years education provider to their European portfolio. The Stockholm-headquartered firm was launched in 1996, and operates preschools, primary and secondary schools and adult education across the Nordics, Finland, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and the UK.
Mills & Reeve, led by Partner Jonathan Greenwood, provided legal advice to the Chestnut shareholders. Meanwhile, Grant Thornton assumed the role of lead advisor on the sale of Chestnut Nursery Schools. Stuart Davies, corporate finance partner, headed the firm’s advisory team, which provided a fully integrated service across corporate finance, tax, financial modelling and financial due diligence.
Davies said, “Chestnut is a genuinely impressive business – built from a single nursery in East London into a 21-site group over two decades, with a reputation for quality that speaks for itself. The founders set a clear goal, and it was a privilege to bring together our teams to deliver a result they could be proud of. We wish Chestnut every success as part of the AcadeMedia family.”
Grant Thornton is led by nearly 300 partners and powered by nearly 5,000 people in the UK. The transaction underlines the firm’s track record in the education and early years sector, and its ability to deliver fully integrated advisory services for founder-owned businesses at pivotal moments in their journey.
Steven Davies, co-founder of Chestnut Nursery Schools added, “It was a pleasure working with the Grant Thornton team, whose expert advice and proactive support were instrumental in delivering a successful transaction. Having built Chestnut across more than 20 years, achieving our objectives was hugely important. Their guidance has positioned the business strongly for its next phase, and we are delighted with the outcome.”
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