Brabners’ corporate team advises on Lancashire residential care home business sale

A Lancashire family-owned care home group has been sold by its owners to a Greater Manchester-based healthcare services provider in a deal supported by Brabners.

Botany House Care was founded by Jeanette and Mike Lane in 2002 with an ethos of providing a luxury service to its residents. It owns two care homes that provide residential care for over 65s. The sites include Danesmoor in Haslingden, which has capacity for up to 24 residents and Jalna in Burnley, which has capacity for 22.

The company — which employs 38 members of staff — has been sold to RJBS Health Care, a family-run business headquartered in Oldham. 

RJBS provides a range of services across Greater Manchester and the North West including residential care and staffing for NHS hospitals. The purchase was financed using a combination of debt finance and RJBS’s cash reserves and will facilitate an exit for Jeanette and Mike, who plan to retire.

We advised the couple on the transaction. Montane Care acted as sales agent.

Strong advisory team throughout the process

Jeanette Lane, Co-Founder of Botany House Care, said: “Running a care home can be emotional and rewarding and we are proud to have supported so many residents and their families. 

Selling a business that you’ve been part of for over 20 years is also emotional and there are many factors involved but we’ve been fortunate to have had a strong advisory team to support us on the deal.

Brabners’ experienced team acted superbly to support us throughout the process and showed its expertise in the care sector.”

The complexities in selling a care home

Our advisory team was led by Nikki Whittle, Partner, with John Quinn, Solicitor, who delivered corporate advice including on the structure of the deal and working with the buyer and bank to ensure that the correct documents were provided to secure funding.

Paul Nicholls, Senior Associate, advised on the property-related aspects of the deal while Christine Hart, Legal Director, advised on employment law matters.

Nikki said: “The care home sector is very unique and purchasing or selling a care home is complex as there are a lot of emotional factors involved as well as business ones such as real estate, funding, employment and data protection. 

Care homes are one of our specialist sectors and we understand the factors for people involved and the legal framework involved in growing and selling such businesses. Over recent years, there has been a growing trend of consolidation in the UK residential care sector which is driving transactions, including in the North West.

Purchasing or selling a care home can be complicated… The team has really enjoyed working with Jeanette and Mike to secure a deal which offers them an exit while ensuring that Botany House’s residents continue to receive top-quality care over the coming years.”

Helen Wong MBE from Setfords provided legal advice to RJBS Healthcare.

Talk to us

Our multidisciplinary care homes team assists with the full range of legal issues that care homes face as well as supporting owners with their journey to exit strategy. 

Talk to us by giving us a call on 0333 004 4488, sending us an email at hello@brabners.com or completing our contact form below.