Lyceum Capital-backed Carewatch, the UK’s largest national domiciliary care provider, has strengthened its geographical reach after completing the acquisitions of three franchise businesses: Graham Home Care, Carewatch North and East Riding of Yorkshire and Carewatch Greenwich.
The deals are the first add-on acquisitions made by Carewatch during 2011 and take the total to 19 since Lyceum Capital backed the company in October 2008.
To increase its reach in London, Carewatch has acquired its largest franchise operation, Graham Home Care. Established in 1996 by Sally and Ian Graham, Graham Home Care provides support services to around 850 users, delivering over 13,000 hours of care per week.
With more than 750 care workers, the company specialises in children and family care, serving the elderly, physically disabled, people with learning disabilities and those with palliative care requirements.
The Carewatch Greenwich branch in London currently provides circa 1,500 weekly hours of domiciliary care, almost entirely to Greenwich Council.
Carewatch’s North and East Riding of Yorkshire franchise offers domiciliary care services primarily for the frail, elderly and younger adults with disabilities. The business operates from Scarborough, Malton and Selby and provides on average over 1,300 hours of care per week.
Collectively Graham Home Care, Carewatch North and East Riding of Yorkshire and Carewatch Greenwich add operations in nine London boroughs, one in Edinburgh and three in North Yorkshire. The acquisitions further strengthen Carewatch’s national network, which now spans over 150 branches.
Carewatch currently delivers over 200,000 hours of care and support services per week to both local authority-funded recipients and private clients and the business is now the UK’s largest independent national provider of home-based care and support.
In 2010 Lyceum Capital arranged an additional GBP25 million of funding to enable Carewatch to continue its programme of operational investment and to support further acquisitions.
This consolidation strategy identifies and acquires high quality local businesses which complement the Carewatch’s person-centred approach and benchmark standards of quality care and support.
Philip Buscombe (pictured), Chairman of Lyceum Capital, says: “Local authorities are increasingly favouring larger providers of domiciliary care in order to create efficiencies. By helping Carewatch to strengthen its presence in key geographical regions, we’re continuing to build a national network of branches which provide market-leading quality of care.”
David Lyon, Chief Executive of Carewatch, says: “These three bolt-ons represent a significant step forward in our delivery of high quality services to the population of Greater London, Yorkshire and Edinburgh. We aim to continue the management teams’ focus on maintaining and enhancing their high standards and further build the enlarged company’s support network.”
