Yorkshire care homes snapped up

TARGET Healthcare, an investor in UK care homes, has acquired three purpose-built care homes in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The deal, for approximately £13.3m including acquisition costs, is for homes in Rastrick, West Yorkshire; Sutton-in-Craven, North Yorkshire; and Fleetwood, Lancashire. The homes have been acquired from Clerical Medical (part of Aberdeen Asset Management). 

The homes will continue to be operated by Orchard Care Homes for approximately 28 years. Orchard Care Homes was formed in 2005, and operates around 100 care homes and employs around 5,000 staff.  This represents Jersey-based Target’s second transaction in homes operated by Orchard, bringing the total number of Orchard homes in the portfolio to five.  The company now has six tenant groups.

This transaction, which follows one earlier this year which saw the group exchange contracts to acquire a care home in York under construction, will bring the total funds invested by the Target Healthcare to £129m, through a combination of equity raised and the use of term loan and revolving credit facilities provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Kenneth MacKenzie, managing partner of Target Advisers, which manages the Target Healthcare fund, said: “We are pleased to have completed this acquisition, allowing us to quickly invest funds recently raised into three modern, purpose-built homes.  This transaction further develops our relationship with Orchard Care Homes.  We have a number of other deals with both regional and national operators in advanced non-binding legal negotiations, and we expect to make further announcements soon.”