CM Company News

Extra care developer Ashley House has warned its shareholders that it is unlikely to make a profit in the current financial year. In a trading update, the AIM-listed company stated that, in order to reach market expectations for profits in the financial year ending 30 April 2014, the company would need to achieve planning and exchange legal contracts on four out of six extra care schemes currently in development.

Legal & General (L&G) has acquired three care homes from the Careplaces Fund, which is managed by Bridges Ventures in partnership with Castleoak, for £25.2m.

Mears Group reported revenues of £430m (2014: £428.1m) and a profit before tax of £19.2m (2014: £18.7m) in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015. This growth, however, was driven by its social housing operation with turnover in its care division remaining static at £63.5m (2014: £63.2m).

Mears Group reported a 5% rise in revenues but pre-tax profits dropped by 12.5% in the year ended 31 December 2015. Turnover stood at £881.1m, compared to £838.7m, reflecting the full year impact of its acquisitions of Omega in October 2014 and Care UK’s Care at Home (CAH) business in May 2015. Taking into account cost of sales of £649m (2014: £613.7m), administrative expenses of £193.5m (2014: £182m) and amortisation of acquisition intangibles of £10.8m (2014: £12.3m), Mears made an operating profit of £27.8m, down from £30.7m the previous year.

CareTech’s unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2016 show another impressive financial performance by the specialist care provider. Revenues were up...

CareTech: Ahead of December’s publication of results for the year ended 30 September 2011, the company said that it anticipates trading to be in line with expectations. It added that capacity across the group had increased by 247 places to 2,056 while occupancy levels in mature facilities is at 92% and 87% in newer facilities.

Telecare and telehealth specialist, Tunstall Healthcare Group, reported huge losses for the year ending 30 September 2011 following a year of government spending cuts and NHS reform.

Chilldren’s care and special school provider Witherslack Group (Holdings) Limited experienced a 40% leap in turnover from £18.1m to £25.5m for the year ended 31 August 2012. The provider made a £2.1m operating profit on its estate of nine schools and seven care homes compared to £1.2m the previous year, when it had one fewer care home. A pre-tax loss of £1.4m (2011: £600,000) was recorded.

Four Seasons Health Care has announced a shift in focus to growth in dementia care, homes for self-paying clients and specialist care, particularly mental health, brain injury and neurodisabilities.

Sovereign Capital has sold domiciliary care provider City & County Healthcare Group in a management buy-out backed by private equity firm Graphite Capital for an undisclosed sum. Earlier press reports had indicated a price tag of around £120m, but that is likely to have been more of a hope than an expectation since it would have taken the asset-light company’s value into 12 times EBITDA territory, based on the £9.9m EBITDA revealed in its annual accounts to March 2013. A possibility of a stock market float had been suggested, but came to nothing.