Woodleigh Community Care bought for £63m

LEEDS-BASED Woodleigh Community Care has been bought by rival specialist behavioural health provider Cambian Group for £63m.

Woodleigh operates 152 beds across 13 residential homes, supported living units and one hospital in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

The business provides specialist, community-based, high severity care for adults with complex needs, challenging behaviours and learning disabilities.

Cambian is funding the deal from its existing bank facilities to provide a platform to increase its specialist capability and capacity and expand into geographies where it’s been under-represented.

In the 12 months to September 2014, Woodleigh recorded revenues of £18.2m and operating profits of £5.4m.

Saleem Asaria, chief executive of Cambian, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Woodleigh and believe that the acquisition will bring great value to Cambian.

“It enables us to enter the Yorkshire and Humber region, and importantly brings increased specialist capability to the Group which will enable us to extend the services we offer across the business. 

“We are committed to being the highest quality provider of specialist behavioural and health services for children and adults and today’s transaction complements this vision”. 

A team from the Leeds office of KPMG -led by Christian Mayo and Giles Taylor with Dan Smith and Andrew Nicholson – as well as John Hamer and Oliver Duke from Walker Morris, advised management and the shareholders of Woodleigh Community Care on its acquisition by Cambian Group.

Christian Mayo, partner and head of corporate finance in Yorkshire at KPMG, said: “To attract interest from such a high profile, publicly-listed buyer as Cambian is testament to the quality of the business that the shareholders have built and the high standard of care Woodleigh Community Care provides.

“With growing demand for specialist care services across the UK, we expect further consolidation in the market.”