Mereside Farm Children’s Nursery in Shirley, Solihull, has been acquired by Kids Planet Day Nurseries for an undisclosed sum.

Jassi Sunner, associate director of childcare and education at Christie & Co, handled the sale of the nursery, which was owned by Ruth and Alan Lowe for 10 years before they announced their plans to retire.

The 84-place early years setting has been acquired by Kids Planet Day Nurseries, which owns 198 nurseries across the UK.

Sunner said: “I have known Alan Lowe for a number of years as he previously purchased Inglenook Day Nursery from me.

“I knew the last few years had been up and down for Alan, so it was pleasing that we were able to agree a deal quickly with Kids Planet and therefore progress the matter in legals as swiftly as possible.

“Although we have seen an increase in activity across the Midlands from first-time buyers and regional small groups, it is great to see that corporate activity for the larger operators remains strong with an acquisition like this and helps to maintain the strong competitive tension in the sector and across the region from a range of different buyers.”