Advanced Childcare buys Continuum
ADVANCED Childcare has bought Rochdale-based childrens’ care services company Continuum Group for an undisclosed sum.
The company said that the combined group would lead to the creation of “the first national-scale provider” of children’s care services in the UK, which deals with 80 of the UK’s 152 local authorities.
Advanced Childcare is a Stockport-based business which was founded by former social worker Riz Khan in 1996. Last year, it changed hands in a £28m deal when former investor Bowmark Capital sold a majority stake in the company to US-based private equity firm GI Partners.
It has also since bought Herefordshire-based competitor Clifford House in a £10m deal last September.
The Continuum deal will see Advanced Childcare incorporate a business which employs over 120 staff and made a pre-tax profit of £229,701 on sales of £6.4m last year.
The combined company will have 143 children’s homes with 416 placements, 15 special schools and over 100 fostering placements. It will employ more than 1,400 people, and said its organic growth plans could see it add a further 875 new jobs over the next four years.
Mr Khan, who is CEO of Advanced Childcare, said: “With this merger, Advanced Childcare now has the scale and expertise to offer integrated therapeutic and educational pathways to help such children achieve a better future.
“These end-to-end care pathways allow us to assist local authorities in reducing lifecycle costs and to champion positive outcomes for looked-after children.”
Iain MacRitchie, outgoing chairman of Continuum Group, said: “This is a very exciting time and the start of a new chapter in Continuum’s development, adding further breadth and depth to the services we can offer.”
