Care home operator Four Seasons plans £300m sale | Business News

A care home operator once ranked among Britain’s biggest is being put up for sale in a move expected to raise around £300 million.

Sky News has learned that Four Seasons Health Care Group has appointed CBRE, the real estate agent, to oversee an auction in the coming months.

The process will launch after an extended period in which the Four Seasons has been remodeled and downsized through a series of asset sales.

Although much smaller than it was before the pandemic, the company still employs more than 4,000 people and operates more than 45 nursing homes.

It cares for thousands of residents and is marketed under the names Four Seasons and Brighterkind.

Four Seasons is now managed by Joe O’Connor, a restructuring professional and experienced care sector turnaround specialist who has been appointed its chief executive in 2022.

The recently published quarterly results demonstrated the turnaround in its performance under Mr O’Connor.

Healthcare analysts said that based on its current financial performance, the business was expected to be worth around £300 million.

The deal is expected to attract interest from a range of financial and industry bidders, real estate industry sources said on Thursday.

One lender said a recovery in healthcare asset valuations meant it was a logical time to execute a formal sale process for the nursing home operator.

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Four Seasons parent company Elli Finance went into administration in 2019, with Alvarez & Marsal appointed to oversee the insolvency.

It belonged to Terra Firma Capital Partners, a private equity vehicle founded by financier Guy Hands, since 2012.

Care homes themselves were not insolvent at any point during the following five years, while their ratings given by the Care Quality Commission consistently outperformed many sector rivals.

Terra Firma paid £825m for the deal, but the Four Seasons’ £500m-plus debt pile has been the subject of protracted restructuring talks.

Four Seasons could not be reached for comment.