In 2007 Orchard Australia Holdings purchased, built and renovated childcare centres along the East Coast of Australia. The strategy was a synergy between improving the value of each individual property and creating a childcare “group” that would be significant enough to sell to larger operators within the sector. OAH began it’s portfolio by acquiring an interest in a small company, Kindy Patch, with two centres. It then, both organically and by acquisition, grew into double figures, renovating and improving the infrastructure as it went. By the time of the Group’s exit in 2011, even though lower performing assets had been sold off, it owned 30 childcare centres in total. The transaction with ASX listed G8 Education has a current investment value of approximately $60 million. The company expanded via acquisition and now operates more than 500 long-day childcare centres across Australia.