Christie + Co to exhibit at Care Show Bournemouth
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Specialist property adviser Christie + Co will be attending this year’s Care Show Bournemouth at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC).
The event will take place over two days, 25 and 26 March, and will feature pioneering speakers alongside a range of cutting edge products and services. Visitors include residential nursing and care home-owners; homecare providers; hospital, NHS and Foundation Trust staff; GPs; local authorities and social service providers plus care facility construction companies.
Christie + Co recently championed the healthcare sector as one of the fastest growing industries with demand driven by an ageing demographic. Its Business Outlook 2015 report revealed that there has been a 9.8% increase in values of care home businesses during 2014 and predicted a buoyant year ahead.
However, the care home market remains geographically polarised with investors and operators focusing into the relatively affluent parts of the UK such as London and the South, where average fees are higher and private fee-paying residents are more prevalent.
Simon Harvey, Director at Christie + Co comments: “With an ageing population and an undersupply of care homes in the UK, catering for this demand represents an enormous market opportunity and we have seen investors, primarily from North America, actively target the UK care sector in 2014. This was responsible for driving a number of major transactions at aggressive pricing.”
Charles Phillips, Director at Christie + Co’s Winchester office says: “Development funding and financing is now more widely available with banks increasingly eager to lend to the right applicants. Care homes of all sizes and categories are being looked at, particularly homes operating in a desirable area with a good catchment of potential private residents generating the most interest.”
John Crocker, Director at Christie + Co’s Exeter office adds: “Arguably the most critical challenge that operators face is rising staff costs. A shortage of qualified nurses means operators are increasingly having to turn to agencies or foreign labour to plug the hole.”