Bupa to sell part of its UK care home business

Private healthcare provider Bupa announced an agreement to sell part of its UK care home business to HC-One on Wednesday, subject to regulatory approval, in a transaction totalling around £300m.

The company said the sale would see the transfer of 122 care homes to HC-One, which it described as a “leading provider” of health and social care in the UK.

Bupa would retain around 150 care homes and six Richmond Villages caring for more than 9,000 residents, with a further four care homes and two retirement villages under construction.

“We remain one of the main providers of residential care in the UK, and a major investor in the sector,” said Bupa chief executive David Hynam.

“This move enables us to focus our investment to continue to provide high quality care for our residents, both now and in the future.

“This year, Bupa will invest more than £120m into refurbishing existing homes and building new care homes and retirement villages.”

Hynam said Bupa and HC-One had a “shared commitment” to excellence in care, adding that the two companies would work together over the coming months to ensure there was “minimal change” for residents and their families, and that they continued to receive the “high quality care” from the same teams.

Bupa's investment of more than £120m in 2017 into its care homes and retirement villages was in addition to £100m invested in 2016 in building, refurbishing and maintaining its homes, the board clarified.