In March, HC-One announced its strategy to better meet the evolving care needs of the country, and in particular the growing number of people living with dementia. This is part of HC-One’s mission to be the first choice care provider for families, colleagues and commissioners.
A key element of this strategy is HC-One’s commitment to refurbishing over 200 of its homes to modernise and enhance the facilities it offers in local communities, alongside its ongoing new build programme that will be bringing with it a new generation of purpose-built care homes, with homes in Bingham and Telford due to open this Summer.
Another crucial part of HC-One’s strategy is its journey towards being a leader in sector pay and reward. HC-One is proud to invest in its Colleagues and their professional development, and in April, after collaboration and wage negotiations with the GMB and seeking feedback from Colleagues, HC-One announced a pay increase of at least 3% for Colleagues. In addition, those Colleagues who had previously been paid at National Living Wage rates will now be paid at a minimum hourly rate of £9, bringing them above the hourly minimum National Living Wage.
HC-One is now pleased to announce that these investments are supported by new capital from HC-One’s current owners, Safanad and Court Cavendish, in addition to a refinancing deal agreed with Welltower, a global investor in healthcare and wellness real estate.
Safanad and Court Cavendish have taken the opportunity to significantly increase their investment in HC-One, ensuring that HC-One is benefitting from continued and concentrated support from its shareholders, alongside the backing of Welltower. Safanad’s new equity investment will increase its ownership and will result in Safanad taking majority control of HC-One going forward.
The £540 million deal to refinance all of HC-One’s existing debt facilities with Welltower, enhances HC-One’s long-term financial stability and enables it to deliver on its strategy. As part of this refinancing deal, HC-One is also reducing its debt by £66m.
HC-One’s Chief Executive, James Tugendhat, said:
“We are delighted that our strong financial health is supporting us to invest in our homes, and reward our Colleagues as we strive to be The Kind Care Company.
“We are pleased that Welltower, with its expertise and commitment to the sector, is supporting HC-One. We are confident we can improve and develop HC-One to be true to our purpose of serving at the heart of each of our communities and being the first choice for families, Colleagues and commissioners.
“The continued support of our owners, and all of our stakeholders, gives us the confidence to weather any further challenges from the pandemic and to reinforce our strategy of better meeting the evolving, and more complex care needs of the communities we serve.”