Christie & Co brokers sale of Little Unicorn Day Nurseries

Professional business services company Christie Group announced on Wednesday that Christie & Co, its specialist provider of agency and advisory services, has successfully brokered the sale of Canary Wharf's Little Unicorn Day Nurseries Group to leading childcare provider Bright Horizons Family Solutions.

The AIM-traded firm said the independently-owned flagship Little Unicorn Group currently consists of four settings with an effective operating capacity for around 350 children.

“At the time Kate [Williamson] started her business, Canary Wharf was a very different place to the thriving area which it is today, and the development of a fledgling childcare business at that time was perceived to be a potential risk,” said Nick Brown, associate director within Christie & Co's childcare and education team.

“However, the sheer determination of her and her family to succeed enabled them to not only open their first setting, but grow and evolve the business to where it is today, a thriving group of four premium childcare settings which also offer emergency childcare facilities and back up care."

Brown said that with an excellent reputation, premium fees and very high demand from parents and Wharf-based employers for places, the business quickly became a success.

“In an era of insecurity following the recent Brexit vote, it's heartening to see that a major international childcare operator like Bright Horizons Family Solutions saw this privately- run group in the heart of London's financial quarter as a desirable prime asset to acquire."