Troubled care homes

ELEVEN care homes at financier Guy Hands’ struggling business are rated inadequate by the health watchdog.

Dismal ratings at Four Seasons homes, which look after about 17,000 people, have shot up while the chain of 324 homes cannot afford to pay interest on its £542m debt.

Eleven homes are now rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) compared to six last year. Chairman Robbie Barr said the rise was due to the CQC taking a tougher approach.

Four Seasons has long complained of underfunding from the Government. The chain and its sister businesses Brighterkind and The Huntercombe Group made a total profit of £13.9m during the third quarter of the year.

Hands is in talks with creditor, US hedge fund H/2, that would see H/2 waive its debt for control of Four Seasons.