Care home company in talks for future

Original article: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/business/8690731.Care_home_company_in_talks_for_future/

With times being hard for care homes it is essential to optimise your care home and get the best value for money.
Care home company in talks for future

THE UK’s largest care home provider, Southern Cross Healthcare, is holding exploratory talks with other potential buyers after private equity firm Towerbrook Capital walked away without making an offer.

Towerbrook said in August it was weighing up a bid for Darlington- based Southern Cross which has been hit hard by public sector cuts. Southern Cross declined to enter talks with the London and New York-based firm, but later started to explore strategies to turn around its flagging performance, during which it said other parties expressed interest in the company.

A company statement said: “While these approaches are highly preliminary in nature, the board believes it to be in shareholders’ interest to continue to hold exploratory discussions.

There can be no certainty that any offer will be forthcoming.”

Southern Cross, which operates about 750 homes with capacity for about 37,000 beds, will announce its full results on December 7. It has warned that pressure on public spending was hitting admissions.

Earlier this month, Southern Cross defended itself against criticism of the quality of care in one of its homes after industry watchdog the Care Quality Commission gave 19 of its homes a zero rating, where zero is rated as poor and three stars is excellent.

Advertisement