Prior to Affinity ASX debut, G8 were very selective with their centre purchases. They had to be within a certain distance from a major city, high occupancy levels etc., but with all corporate childcare participating in a spending spree that criteria became impossible, resulting in purchases in regional areas, probably because some of those centres would have been part of group. Centres in regional areas do not enjoy the high occupancy levels of those in major cities and this would be affecting the profitability of those centres. G8 would also be very aware of not 'rocking the boat' during the first twelve months of transitioning after purchasing those centres. Their aim would be to gain the confidence of parents first before addressing staff ratios. As January approaches and centres report vacancies I would expect that they would be expecting both their centre managers and areas managers to trim the fat very quickly.
Childcare centres are required, by law to report their vacancies to the department on a weekly basis. You can check on the occupancy level of any centre by visiting www.mychild.gov.au.
Like you I will be following all four corporates with interest over the next 6 months.
GEM Price at posting:
$4.70 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
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