Flu outbreak takes a toll at North West care homes

Cheshire-based Four Seasons Health Care suffered a rise in elderly deaths over the winter, linked to the seasonal flu outbreak.

The Wilmslow group, the second largest care home chain, revealed that occupancy levels fell by more than 2% during the period from December to March after “a very high level of winter deaths”.

Four Seasons cares for 14,000 residents, across 330 homes.

Occupancy levels for the year 2017 were stable.

During the year the indebted company sold or closed 32 sites, cutting its overall beds offering by 2,700. This helped Four Seasons realise £35.8m.

In February this year  The Business Desk reported that Four Seasons had received fresh funding from a backer.

It announced it had received a commitment to £70m of funding from its US-based hedge fund backers to stabilise its operations.

The company confirmed reports that H/2, which owns the majority of Four Seasons bonds, had agreed to make the sum available in order to repay an existing loan to the company, as well as providing £30m of new interim funding.

Four Seasons chairman Robbie Barr said at the time: “We are very appreciative of H/2’s willingness to consider expanding its already substantial commitment to Four Seasons Health Care and for the continued support of all parties in pursuit of a consensual agreement.

“Working together to close the facility over the next two to three weeks, we believe that this incremental liquidity and initial steps toward a revised governance structure lay the foundation for a consensual restructuring that benefits all stakeholders, and in particular provide continuity of care for our residents.”