Nov 1st, 2011 - Four Seasons Health Care concludes second phase of agreements to take over operations of 140 homes from Southern Cross
Four Seasons Health Care announces that is has concluded the
agreements to take over the operations of 140 homes from Southern Cross. In
this latest phase 80homes have transferred to
Four Seasons Health Care, the transactions having been given regulatory
approval. Southern Cross employees in the homes have joined Four Seasons Health
Care under TUPE provisions.
The total transfers include Four Seasons taking back 45 homes it owns that have
been leased to Southern Cross under an historic arrangement.
Chief Executive Officer of Four Seasons Health Care, Dr. Peter Calveley said,
“These homes are an important strategic addition to our organisation and
significantly increase our capacity and regional cover. They represent a good
fit with our existing homes portfolio. I
am gratified that the landlords have placed their confidence in Four Seasons as
their preferred operator and I am pleased to welcome the Southern Cross
employees and residents to the Four Seasons Health Care Group. We have been
working closely with Southern Cross managers to ensure the transfer of homes
would take place with no disruption to care services.”
The transfers from Southern Cross increase the number of care homes and specialist care facilities, across the Group’s Home and Huntercombe divisions respectively, from 376 to just over 500. Four Seasons has safeguarded continuity of care for approximately 5,500 former Southern Cross residents and transferred around 7,300 staff from Southern Cross.
Information:
Four
Seasons Health Care: 07533 886 573.
Background on Four Seasons and response to misleading statements by the GMB
- Before it took over 140 homes from Southern Cross, Four Seasons) operated 323 care homes for older and physically disabled people with c.16,700 beds giving it a 4.6 per cent share of the independent sector. The addition of the former Southern Cross homes increases this to over 23,000 beds and approximately 6.5 per cent share of the independent sector making it the largest independent provider in the UK.
- In addition Four Seasons
also operates 43 specialist care facilities, including 7 hospitals, with
c.1,300 beds, operating under the Huntercombe brand. The transfers from
Southern Cross will this increase to almost 60 units. Huntercombe provides
specialised care for individuals with mental health disorders, learning
difficulties, acquired brain injury or physical neurodisabilities. The Huntercombe
Group is also a market leader in providing care for children and adolescents
with special mental health needs.
- Four Seasons is also a
landlord of some 30 care homes leased to other operators.
- Four Seasons Health Care’s Homes Division is one of the highest quality rated care providers in the independent sector. It has developed a pioneering award winning dementia care programme and shared the learning internationally and has taken a sector lead in developing other higher dependency care services. Its specialist care subsidiary The Huntercombe Group provides wide ranging treatment in areas of mental health, acquired brain injury, neurodisabilities, learning disabilities and children with special needs.
- Four Seasons Health Care Group has profits at circa
£100million (before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization). After
these deductions it remains profitable.
- The Group successfully completed a capital restructuring in which certain of its lenders exchanged debts of £780 million owed to them for a stake in the business, so becoming its shareholders. This effectively reduced its debts by about half, with maturity of the remaining debt being extended to September 2012. It is currently reviewing options for future refinancing. The shareholders and debt holders are supportive and the board is very confidentthis will be achieved before the maturity date.
Response
to recent misleading statements by the GMB
The
most recent valuation of our company was over £950 million, a multiple of the
figure that has been quoted by the GMB and significantly greater than our debt.
We are well able to manage our debt and are very confident we will arrange to
refinance it before it becomes due. Four Seasons is different to Southern Cross
in several key respects. We are earning profits of circa £100 million pa
(before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation). After these deductions we
are left with a modest profit. We own 60% of the facilities we operate and so
are not so vulnerable to rents. We continue to outperform the market trend with
occupancy at 88% and admissions up against last year.
The GMB suggestion that fees for care may be diverted to pay interest is
mischievous nonsense. Four Seasons Health Care is one of the highest rated
quality of care providers according to regulatory inspection reports. Far from
cutting back we plan to invest up to £28 million this year and next on
improvements to our homes (way ahead of the sector average). Local authority
fee settlements tend to apply to all operators in their region with little
variation, so interest costs of debt are not reflected in our care fees but
come out of our profits. Businesses in every sector operate with
borrowings and pay rents. Ours are affordable. The public sector also pays
interest indirectly to fund building through private finance initiative
schemes.
The GMB singled us out for attack after we had declined to give them voluntary recognition for collective bargaining rights or to deduct union subscriptions from staff pay. We are happy for our staff to be members of the union of their choice and would not voluntarily give bargaining rights to any one union in preference to others. The GMB statements to media are significantly at odds with what their full time representatives said in numerous meetings with us when they agreed the transfer of homes from Southern Cross to Four Seasons. This raises questions about their motivation. Their misleading statements will cause undue anxiety to staff and to the vulnerable residents they claim to be concerned about and to their families.
The Beaufort was recommended to me and does not disappoint.
We have a good nursing team backed up by excellent multi-disciplinary involvement
Deputy Manager, Willow Lodge Care Home
