The sale of The Croft residential care home in Newton Abbot, Devon, is evidence of the ‘appetite that exists in the region for centrally-located, well-run, and profitable care facilities’, according to property advisor, Christie & Co.

The Croft is a personalised residential dementia care home registered for up to 22 residents.

It occupies a period property that benefits from multiple extensions, enabling it to provide accommodation across 22 bedrooms, 15 of which have en-suite facilities.

The home has been owned by Simon Spiller and David Tait for the last six years, over which time they have invested heavily in the building and made significant improvements to the trading performance.

However, they felt they had taken the business as far as they wanted to and were keen to explore other opportunities both within the sector and outside it.

Following a confidential sales process with Simon Harvey at Christie & Co, and with funding sourced through Ashley Clements at Christie Finance, it has been sold to first-time buyers, husband-and-wife team, Reginald Devaudhauscn and Jeeva Paul.

Although this is their first care home, they have experience in the sector running an agency business, including overseas recruitment and, prior to completion, they were able to assist the sellers with staff recruitment, all of which aided a seamless transition for the residents and staff at the home.

Harvey said the deal was evidence of a growing market for social care facilities, adding: “Having assisted Simon and David with their acquisition a few years ago, I was delighted, once again, to have the opportunity of working with them, this time in the sale of the home, which completed within four weeks of the solicitors being instructed.

“Not only does this transaction show that, with commitment from all parties and great assistance from Ashley Clements at Christie Finance who organised the purchasers funding, a sale can be achieved in a tight time.

“It also continues to demonstrate the appetite that exists in the region for centrally-located, well-run, and profitable care homes and our experience of other ongoing transactions reiterates this point further.”
Clements added: “Due to the potential challenges presented by the Budget, there were time constraints that felt insurmountable at the time.

“But, with the support of Simon, legal representatives from all sides that were willing to do what was necessary, and an extremely-responsive and capable client, we were able to complete the purchase within four weeks from offer of finance – the quickest transaction of its kind that I have been involved in and heard of.

“The funding market can be notoriously difficult to navigate at times, especially for first-time buyers in the care market.

“Ensuring engagement with lenders using an unbiased and whole-of-market approach is the key to achieving the most-competitive funding package available.”

The Croft residential care home was sold for an undisclosed price.