Leading care home portfolio in Bristol and South Gloucestershire sold to Allegra Care and Moorfield Group

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has announced the sale of a high-quality, profitable care home portfolio, with assets located in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

The sale comprises Olive Tree House and Rose Garden in Patchway, and Blossom Fields and The Grove in Winterbourne. The homes have an excellent occupancy history and, together, boast a total of 183 beds and both ‘Outstanding’ and ‘Good’ CQC ratings.

The homes were previously owned by family-run Grove Care Ltd. Following a confidential sales process with Christie & Co, they have been sold to UK-focused care home operator, Allegra Care, and Moorfield Group, a UK specialist real estate fund manager acting on behalf of Moorfield Real Estate Fund V (Moorfield). With this acquisition, the pair now own and operate 11 homes across Hampshire, Cambridge, Suffolk, and South Gloucestershire. The two companies aim to create an initial £125 million portfolio of modern, fit-for-purpose nursing, dementia, and care homes across the UK, with a focus on areas supported by favourable demographic trends.

The Directors at Grove Care comment, “Having established Grove Care over 30 years ago and built the group to become one of Bristol’s leading elderly care providers, we are pleased to secure a sale to Allegra Care. It was clear from the outset that their values and approach to care was closely aligned with ours and we wish them all the very best.”

Helen Jones, Chief Executive Officer at Allegra, comments, “We are very pleased to confirm the addition of Olive Tree House, Rose Garden, The Grove, and Blossom Fields to our growing family of homes. The homes are well-established, well regarded, attractive, and warm, with strong standards of service. We welcome our new colleagues to the Allegra Care team. We thank our due diligence partners for their efforts. The acquisition heralds a tremendous end to 2022 for Allegra Care.”

Charles Ferguson Davie, Chief Investment Officer at Moorfield, comments, “The UK nursing, dementia and care home market is marked by fragmented ownership and a severe demand-supply imbalance in the face of an ageing population. As demonstrated by today’s announcement, we see a major opportunity to create a market-leading portfolio with our joint venture partners Allegra Care, with both parties united in their vision in taking a customer-centric approach to operations that delivers high levels of care and comfort to residents.”

Rob Kinsman, Regional Director at Christie & Co, who brokered the deal, comments, “Having worked with the team at Grove Care for over 15 years, we were delighted to represent the family in the sale to Allegra Care. Grove Care is a fantastic addition to the Allegra portfolio. Having brokered the sale of their first care home, St Georges in Weston super Mare in 2019, it’s great to be part of their ongoing growth. This is a significant transaction in the elderly care sector and underlines investor appetite.”

Legal advice for the Directors at Grove Care was provided RWK Goodman’s specialist Health and Social Care Team led on the corporate side by Hazel Phillips and real estate by Paul Daniels, supported by Associates Janetta White and Krysha Hunt. Associate Elizabeth Painter provided construction law advice. Rob Plumb of Hazelwoods also advised the Directors.

The portfolio was sold for an undisclosed price.