Lancashire care group acquired by Midlands Prime Life business

Deal agreed

The corporate teams at Farleys Solicitors and Pierce Accountants have advised Ken and Nicola Nolan, owners of Springhill Care Group, on a sale that sees it become part of Leicester-based Prime Life.

Prime Life is a UK-wide provider of health and social care services operating more than 60 purpose built care homes.

Springhill Care Group is a provider of nursing, residential, rehabilitation, dementia and day care for adults in the Lancashire and Bristol areas.

The acquisition involved a pre-completion reorganisation of Springhill, including removing Springboard, Business Support Ltd and its head office in Accrington out of the group.

The six remaining group companies were then sold to Prime Life, who received two separate funding streams.

The sale included the three main trading companies which operated three separate residential care homes – Springhill Care Home in Accrington, Birch Green Care Centre in Skelmersdale and Riversway Care Home Bristol.

The transaction is understood to have involved PrimeLife selling the freehold of two Lancashire homes to AEW RRF for £11.5m under 30-year leases with annual reviews linked to the retail price index.

Springhill Care Group’s legal team was led by Debbie King, partner at Lancashire legal firm Farleys who dealt with all of the corporate aspects of the acquisition, assisted by Jenny Goodwin.

The deal also involved complex employment issues and the sale and leaseback of three main care home properties as part of the acquisition, which were dealt with by Victoria Mitchell and Stephen Greenwood of Farleys, respectively.

Debbie King said: “As longstanding clients of Farleys for over 20 years it has been a pleasure to work with Ken and the Springhill team.

“They have built a fantastic well run business which has won numerous awards and accolades and has gone from strength to strength under their management and it’s been great to be able to assist them throughout their business journey.”

Paul Warren, of Pierce Accountants of Blackburn, provided financial advice to the Springhill Care Group having worked with the group for more than 36 years from its inception to its sale. Paul was instrumental in putting the structure of the deal together.

He said: “Having been involved in advising this incredibly successful award-winning and respected care business from its commencement through to this sale and seeing its growth in this period has been a privilege.

“Working with, and advising, Ken and his team has been a pleasure and we wish Ken and Nicola a long, happy and well-deserved retirement.”

Ken Nolan said: “Whilst it is with a degree of sadness that I am retiring from Springhill, an organisation we have built as a team over the last 36 years, I am looking forward to retirement and I’m confident that I am handing over the business to people who are equally committed and the care homes are in good hands for the future wellbeing of everyone, including the residents and staff.”

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