Care Market Insight: South of England

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The care home market in the South of England continues to be active, with good buyer demand for both trading and closed homes. The latter are mostly being snapped up by independent regional operators and specialist care operators that have good referral pipelines of residents and are able to accommodate the refurbishments required. Developers are interested, too, which has helped to recycle some of the older stock that is no longer fit for purpose.

We’ve also seen more corporate disposals in the South than we have done in recent years. Much of this stock is made up of older purpose-built homes that are perfect for expanding regional operators.

The smaller stock is more popular with new market entrants and first-time buyers. However, the southern care market can be challenging for first-time buyers, in particular, as the bricks and mortar values in the region are generally high and, with banks looking for large deposits as a result, the entry point is often too high for first-time buyers to get into the sector. Funding is, however, easier to obtain on assets that have good management in place, sustainable profits, and ‘Good’ CQC reports.

The first-time buyers we’re working with tend to either already have some sort of experience in the sector, or have an existing property investment (for example, a residential buy-to-let) and see healthcare as a worthwhile investment opportunity given its needs-driven nature.

Buyers are particularly interested in homes inside the M25 due to strong demographics or in some of the more affluent areas where private fees are high, such as Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks. A good example of this was Beulah Lodge in Tunbridge Wells - a 21-bedroom residential care home which we sold to an expanding local operator.

For more on the care market in the South of England, contact John Harrison: john.harrison@christie.com / 07764 241 296