Read a cherry-picked
selection of stories as published in the most recent issue of
Community
Care Market News.
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The persistence of US-based private equity group Bridgepoint Capital has paid off with the news that the directors of
healthcare company Care UK have unanimously recommended that shareholders accept a takeover bid of £281m – marking an
impressive 51% premium over the share values as recorded back in September 2009 when the investor first made its move on
the provider.
more>
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Care minister Phil Hope wants every council with adult social care responsibilities which has not already done so to
develop an extra care strategy, and those who have to update it, under the Department of Health’s (DH) latest effort to
increase the UK’s portfolio of this specialist care housing type. However, the future of how the care watchdog regulates
care in such complexes remains up the air.
Speaking at Laing & Buisson’s Annual extra care housing conference in London last month, Mr Hope announced a £3.5m
funding pot which, under automatic allocation, will distribute £20,000 to each local authority in England to further
encourage the development of the elderly care housing model.
more>
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Stage two of the Law Commission’s goal to create a unified adult social care statute has begun with the launch of a four
month consultation seeking views on five key areas of reform which would shift legal responsibilities so that local
authorities would have a duty to assess everyone’s community care needs while also introducing a single eligibility
framework for all social care assessments.
more>
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A report published last month by the Audit Commission has said that local authorities must make better use of the
information they have on their older populations if they hope to combat the financial challenges posed by this rapidly
growing group, adding, controversially, that they should look to reduce residential care costs below the budget lines as
set out by the Department of Health (DH).
more>
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Nottinghamshire council’s lead member for adult services and health has defended proposals to increase homecare fees,
meals on wheels fees, outsource elderly care and provide additional extra care places in the run up to a meeting where
the authority is set to make its final decisions on dramatic budgets cuts designed to shave some £85m over the next three
years.
more>
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The not-for-profit residential care provider Care South is ending services at two care homes in the South West following
rent rises from Bournemouth and Dorset councils which it claims make operations at the homes no longer financially
viable.
more>
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For the 16th year running the volume of homecare funded by English local authorities increased, at its recent rate of
5-6% per annum. But can this, and the other patterns of homecare provision analysed in Laing & Buisson's new report
Domiciliary Care UK Market Report 2010, continue? Analyst Philip Mickleborough looks ahead
more>
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| Fresh blood at Four Seasons as finance director flees |
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In its ongoing efforts to address the reduced, yet still major, debt pile upon which its operations sit, Four Seasons
Health Care has appointed the independent corporate finance advisory firm Gleacher Shacklock to conduct an internal
strategic review – a move which appears to have led to the sudden exit of finance director Nick Mitchell.
more>
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| Southern Cross going steady |
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An interim management statement from Southern Cross Healthcare has revealed little change in operations with a turnover
increase of just £7.4m over last year. However, average weekly fees were up a decent 4% in the first quarter of 2009/10
trading (to 31 December 2009) and plans are afoot which could result in the disposal of more of the homes which the
operator still owns the freehold rights to.
more>
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| CareTech builds coffers for acquisitive future |
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The specialist care provider CareTech Holdings has announced plans to raise £15m through a new share issue which it will
used to fuel moves towards a ‘substantial pipeline of acquisition opportunities’ it has identified as the aspirations of
sellers in the specialist care market start to become more realistic
more>
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| Lyceum Capital continues to build Carewatch |
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Domiciliary care franchise network Carewatch, Britain’s second largest homecare provider, has completed a further two
bolt-on acquisitions taking its delivery portfolio to 190,000 hours a week and setting it further on its journey to carve
itself an even bigger slice of the UK homecare market. With continued backing from its private equity owner Lyceum
Capital, Carewatch has acquired Always There Homecare Limited and Four Seasons Homecare (unrelated to the residential
care home giant) cementing its regional grip in the North West, the Midlands and North Wales.
more>
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| SPECIAL REPORT - Money men, the return of private equity? |
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Despite the turbulent economic climate and the decline in the levels of debt available for transactions, the care sector
has continued to see transactions completing. However, deal activity has predominantly focused around the domiciliary and
homecare service sectors, rather than the traditional residential markets that were popular before the financial crisis.
In recent months, we have seen acquisition activity involving some of the larger players in the care sector, including
Housing 21’s takeover of AIM-listed Claimar Care and, at the time of writing, the proposed takeover offers for Care UK
and Supporta. At the same time there has been a great deal of restructuring among the large home operators, such as
Southern Cross and Four Seasons.
more>
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MARCH 2010
