Provider of children’s residential care lands latest funding deal
A Nuneation-based specialist provider of children’s residential care has secured an £8.4m commercial facility from specialist marketplace lender Assetz Capital.
The new financial package will enable Forge Care to restructure existing debt and provide further liquidity as the company eyes its growth opportunities across the Midlands region.
This latest package, managed by Neil Roper, regional director for UK Midlands at Assetz Capital, follows earlier equity and growth support from Assetz Capital, MidVen and Warwickshire County Council, taking the company’s total 2022 funding to £10.4m and over £16m in total.
This year’s funding follows an earlier £5m CBILS loan provided by Assetz Capital in 2020 which meant Forge Care could continue the start of building work as the Covid-19 pandemic was starting to peak and the business faced the prospect of standing workers down and closing the site.
Both rounds of funding have come at important times for Forge Care as many businesses are facing worsening economic conditions and many lenders are getting stricter with interest rates. It also shows a full life cycle of lending that specialist lenders like Assetz can provide – in Forge Care’s case, Assetz initially funded site acquisition and build of the care facility, and then have restructured the existing debt and provided a new term facility for the operational phase of the project.
Co-founder and CEO of Forge Care Gavin Miller, said: “We are delighted to announce this new package of funding from our partner Assetz Capital, we have built an amazing relationship with the team at Assetz, and we cannot thank them enough for their show of support with this new facility. This really does re-enforce our mandate to go out into the region and further re-shape services for vulnerable children.”
Roper said: “Gavin’s vision to take an empty space and create something as special as Forge Care deserves recognition, what they are producing is fantastic and we are proud to be their funding partner. They are the exact type of business we are in existence to support; entrepreneurial, passionate, and willing.”
Andrew Charnley, managing director at Assetz Capital said “This is absolutely the sort of project that we want to get behind. There are many sectors such as care, leisure, and tourism that are all neglected when it comes to funding. We have always tried to bridge that gap, and we are always prepared to support developments like this that are transforming people’s lives and the area its located in. It’s a special facility, we hope to be able to support them for many years to come.”
