Here’s something they don’t teach at nursery school – growing big too quickly can hurt your health. ABC Learning Centres, the world’s largest listed owner of crèches, saw its shares plunge 43 per cent yesterday after reporting lower earnings that sparked fears it might struggle to repay debts.

ABC’s problems are as simple as – well, ABC. The Australian company expanded rapidly, scooping up UK and US nurseries and piling up debt in the process. That business model made it vulnerable to the credit squeeze, just like a growing number of other Australian companies, including Allco Finance and Centro Properties Group.