Four Seasons to bid for HC-One?

Property consultant Knight Frank has predicted that care home provider HC-One will be sold by the end of the year, adding further fuel to speculation that a deal is in the offing. In its UK Healthcare Market Review Autumn 2013 (see this issue News), Knight Frank said that the end of 2013 could see the disposal of HC-One and a number of mid-cap corporate operators as the finale of restructuring processes’. Four Seasons Health Care is one company currently being mooted to take on the provider formed two years ago the collapse of Southern Cross (CCMn July 2011). Sector sources told CCMn that it would make a lot of sense for Four Seasons to buy HC-One. It recently refinanced (CCMn May 2012) and HC-One’s portfolio of homes would make a good fit with Four Seasons’ community-focused care division, with a few going into its private-pay arm. It’s an estate that Four Seasons is extremely familiar with and acquiring it would leave Four Seasons in a strong position ahead of a possible sale or flotation next year. According to The Sunday Telegraph, Four Seasons owner Terra Firma has held meetings with the management of and is planning a first-round bid for the business, including landlord NHP, which has been valued in the region of £550m to £600m. Other bidders reportedly included a number of US-based private equity bidders and real estate investment trusts. HC-One is a wholly-owned subsidiary of former Southern Cross landlord NHP and the estate is managed by Court Cavendish. The business was officially launched on 1 November 2011 when around 33% of the former Southern Cross estate was transferred to the company and it entered the sector as the third largest UK provider of long-term care.