Bridging Finance for Care Homes, Nursing Homes & Residential Care

Yes - but only via a small number of specialist lenders. Lender appetite depends on the reason for the suspension and the borrower's existing operating track record. Where the buyer already runs registered homes and has applied to transfer the registration, leverage of around 60-65% is typically available. Where registration is suspended for serious safeguarding reasons, finance becomes much harder and any offer will reflect that. We screen the case against the right lenders before any application is made.

Operational, registered care homes with full trading evidence typically borrow 60-70% LTV. Vacant possession or unregistered properties valued on bricks-and-mortar can attract slightly higher LTV (65-75%) because the lender does not have to discount for operating risk. Loans over £5m and stronger covenants can push toward the upper end of those ranges. We always quote against a sector-experienced lender's actual valuation methodology rather than a generic commercial property assumption.

Straightforward acquisitions with clean title and an available RICS specialist valuer complete in 14-21 working days. Cases involving suspended CQC registration, multiple operators, or specialist surveys typically run 21-35 days. The constraint is almost always the specialist valuation and the lender's legal review of the care contract structure, not the underlying credit decision.

The dominant exit is refinance onto a specialist commercial care home mortgage, typically after CQC registration is confirmed in the new operator's name and 6-9 months of trading evidence under their management is available. Doulton arranges both the bridge and the long-term refinance for most clients, so the exit route is designed in alongside the bridge - not bolted on after the fact. Sale of the asset is a less common exit but is accepted by lenders where there is clear marketing evidence.

Both, but the weighting depends on the asset. Operational homes are valued by specialist RICS surveyors on a profits method (EBITDA multiple) cross-checked against bricks-and-mortar. Vacant or unregistered homes are valued on bricks-and-mortar only. The lender then applies LTV to the lower of the two figures and may stress-test EBITDA against industry benchmarks for occupancy, fee mix and staff cost ratios.

Yes, but the borrower will need to demonstrate sector experience some other way - typically a partnership with an experienced registered manager, ownership of a related healthcare business, or a credible operating plan with named, sector-experienced personnel. First-time operators usually borrow at 60-65% LTV with a slight rate premium. Doulton works with operators in this position routinely and helps frame the case for the right lender.

Primary security is always a first legal charge over the care home itself. Additional security can include a debenture over the operating company, personal guarantees from directors (often limited), and occasionally cross-charges against the buyer's existing care homes. Goodwill and CQC registration value are not lendable assets in their own right, but they materially affect the valuation that drives the lend.