Accord takes direct action to snap up health group

WEST BROMWICH housing association Accord Group has acquired Nottingham-based Direct Health Group in a deal that will see the group’s workforce increase to 4,500.

And Accord suggests a further 2,000 jobs could be created across the region over the next three years as a result of the acquisition.

The deal – for an undisclosed sum – will extend the Accord Group’s health and social care business, and should see its turnover from that sector doubled.

It will also increase the reach of the care services it offers, enabling it to provide around 3.5m hours of home-based and residential care each year.

The 2,000 new job opportunities anticipated over the next three years will be driven by a planned expansion in services.

Direct Health will continue to operate as an independent company under its existing management structure but will now become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Accord Group. It currently operates 18 branches across the Midlands, North East and North West regions and is the ninth largest provider in the UK.

Accord Group chief executive Dr Chris Handy said: “Direct Health is one of the UK’s leading providers of care to people in their own homes and it is a business which has always enjoyed solid organic growth.

“We have seen it build an excellent reputation, both for the quality of its care and for its strength as a business, becoming fully-integrated into the communities in which it operates.

“Our customers tell us they have a strong preference for receiving care in their own homes and in acquiring one of the leading providers in the UK, we are responding to this demand in a direct, logical and positive manner.”