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At
Chandler & Co, as you would expect, my day is filled with conversations
with Care Operators sector across the country.
It’s a great way to understand what’s really going on in the market; as
a trusted ally, I am often involved in early discussions around investment
plans, short and long term strategies and group structures. It is clear that to respond to the market,
the care model is to become more complex with not just an increase in the
quality of care home premises, but also in the depth of staff experience and
training to modernise the type of care provided. Furthermore, to truly benefit from economies
of scale, a wider care package needs to be offered to take the service user
from early dependency needs now more likely to be providing care at home before
long term care becomes essential.Operators
are required to be experts in many fields, with pressure from various sides,
often most particularly around the care processes and systems watched over by CQC,
Safeguarding and Local Authority Contract departments. This is coupled with the day to day
responsibility to successfully recruit, retain and manage senior teams and
oversee robust financial direction and management information, more of which is
coming under scrutiny from the banks.
Having
worked in the sector since 1999, I am just as likely to start my day catching
up with an owner of a small local based group as I am to finish it pondering
the issues with a large not for profit operator. Across the board, owners are acutely aware
that changes with their banks will not necessarily always bring constructive
benefits to their businesses. The focus
is clear to continue to improve and extend services, but the direction of how
this can be achieved financially can be confusing.
Not
just simply mortgage introducers, we take our specialist role very seriously
with our confidentiality and impartiality considered as vital valued
qualities. We work closely alongside
operators and often their management teams nurturing an old fashioned long term
relationship based on trust. My
conversations are rarely fixed on purely a straightforward mortgage solution,
but around developing the various aspects of intricate business strategies to
share the best way of achieving productive and practical aspirations.
by Liz Woollett,
Partner, Chandler & Co
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