Care homes sell-off plan
Company battles £500million of debt
BRITAIN’S biggest care home operator is being prepared for a possible sale.
Four Seasons Health Care, which has 17,000 residents in 343 homes, has been battling with more than £500million of debts.
Most of that is owed to a US hedge fund called H/2 Capital Partners, run by secretive American financier Spencer Haber.
It means Haber, whose firm has been buying up Four Seasons’ debts, now controls its future.
Four Seasons has kickstarted a possible sale of the group, which as well as homes for the elderly also provides mental health services.
Members of the board of Four Seasons’ parent company have been replaced.
In a statement, it said: “These changes have been made in furtherance of an independent sales process and facilitate such a process taking place.”
However, it is unclear what form the sale process will take, and whether there will be buyers for all or part of the group. Crucially, it is also not known if H/2 will take part.
Insiders stressed that there was no need for residents and staff to worry as they would not be affected during the sale process.
Four Seasons has 25,000 employees and uses hundreds of agency staff.
A sale could give the firm stability after years of uncertainty.
Four Seasons was bought in 2012 by equity firm Terra Firma, chaired by Guy Hands, in a debtfuelled £825million deal.
Terra Firma later offered Four Seasons to H/2 for a nominal £1.
The company has been hammered by rising costs and cuts to local authority fees paid for residents.