Saved for now: Four Seasons gets debt deal

CARe home chain Four Seasons and its main lender have agreed to defer a £26m interest payment due today, averting the chance it would go bust before Christmas.

The chain, which is home to 17,000 vulnerable and elderly residents and employs 25,000 people, struck a deal with US hedge fund H/2 Capital Partners yesterday after weeks of bitter talks.

However, all sides now have to agree on the terms of a hotly debated restructuring that will see H/2 take over Four Seasons from its owner, city financier Guy Hands’ group Terra Firma.

Robbie Barr, chairman of Four Seasons, said: ‘I look forward to working closely with H/2 and their advisers on delivering a restructuring that will provide the right capital structure for the company’s long-term needs.’

Four Seasons, which took over 100 homes from collapsed Southern Cross, has been struggling for years with heavy debts, high costs and underfunding from the Government. H/2 Capital Partners founder Spencer Haber started buying up its debt cheaply in 2015, putting his fund in a position to take control after the firm ran out of cash for its twice-yearly interest payment.

The chain is believed to have homes worth more than £700m but has been weighed down by a batch of struggling ones, many taken on from Southern Cross.

Terra Firma agrees that Haber can take over for a nominal £1 but the parties fell out about whether an extra 24 lucrative homes should be included.

Four Seasons now hopes to reach an agreement by April.

The fate of the 24 homes is due to be decided separately by a court.