‘Challenging’ first year for Embrace

In its first full year of trading Embrace Group (formerly European Care) reported revenues of £112,433 for the year ended 30 June 2015. After cost of sales of £81.7m and administrative expenses of £25.7m, including an impairment charge of £7.3m, the care home provider made an operating profit of £5.1m. Deducting a £1.7m loss on an unattributed disposal and finance charges and interest, including £6.9m on loan notes, the operator recorded a pre-tax loss of £3.8m. The directors said trading during the report period continued to be challenging’ due to high agency staff costs (particularly due to the impact of nurse shortages), the impact of public sector austerity on occupancy and fees (the latter was on average £671 per week, less than the £721 reported in the three months to 30 June 2014), and more regulation.