Southern Cross Healthcare (United Kingdom)
UK | |
Services | health and social care |
---|---|
Number of employees | 41,000 (2011) |
Website | www.schealthcare.co.uk |
Southern Cross Healthcare (Group plc) was a private provider of health and
History
The company was founded in 1996 by John Moreton, who was its chairman and chief executive until 2002.
In September 2004, a secondary buy-out of the business by the management together with
Blackstone continued to grow the business under its pre-existing
In July 2006, the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange, entering the FTSE 250 Index in September.[12]
Closure
In 2007 and 2008 the Blackstone management team left and were succeeded by a new team led by William Colvin. However cracks soon began to appear and in early 2011 the company was in crisis as a direct result of an 8% reduction in occupancy. This equated to a decline in income of circa £52m. Given its upwards only rent bill (over £240m on its 750 properties) margins declined significantly creating pressure to pay landlords. With public spending cuts leading to fewer referrals (and a drop in occupancy rates from 92% to 84%), it was forced into negotiations with its landlords for rent reductions and appealed to the government for support.[2] In early June 2011 it was announced that the company had made its own decision to withhold 30% of rent owed to avoid mass care home closure.[13] Experts warned of a possible collapse into administration.[13] Its shares had already fallen 98% from early 2008 to early 2011, reducing its market value from £1.1bn to around £12m.[2]
By July 2011, attempts to rescue the company had failed, and all care homes were being taken over by their landlords.[14] The largest landlord, NHP, owning 250 Southern Cross homes, hired Chai Patel to transfer management to HC-One, a company set up by his old consultancy Court Cavendish.[15][16] The former CEO, James Buchan, waived his severance pay.[17]
Media criticism focused on the split from the landlord entity, as the
The company declared insolvency in 2012.[3][4]
Orchid View inquest
Late in 2011, two staff at the company's Orchid View care home in Copthorne, West Sussex, were arrested on suspicion of ill-treatment and neglect of residents.[20] The case had come to the notice of the authorities due to a
See also
References
- ^ Southern Cross Healthcare, About us Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 16 May 2011
- ^ a b c Southern Cross chairman quits, The Guardian, 12 April 2011
- ^ a b Goodley, Simon (3 June 2011). "Southern Cross care fiasco sheds light on secretive world of private equity". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Southern Cross Healthcare Group plc". Companies House. Company No. 05328138. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ a b c Will this man finally manage to bring his software venture to AIM’s altar? The Times, 9 February 2007
- ^ NHP agrees £564m sale, The Scotsman, 30 November 2004
- ^ Brussels refers Blackstone bid for NHP homes to UK watchdog, The Independent, 3 February 2005
- Sunday Times, 1 January 2006
- ^ Blackstone prepares £1bn flotation of Southern Cross, The Times, 2 January 2006,
- ^ Graham Ruddick (5 June 2011). "Is there still life in Southern Cross?". Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
- ^ Olga Craig (5 June 2011). "Old, sick – and homeless?". Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
- ^ Standard Life to enter FTSE 100, BBC News, 7 September 2006
- ^ a b Southern Cross slashes rent to avoid mass care home closure, The Guardian, 1 June 2011
- ^ Wearden, Graeme (11 July 2011). "Southern Cross landlords to take over all homes". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ Goodley, Simon (13 July 2011). "Southern Cross shareholders told of NHP role in closure". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ Wachman, Richard (4 September 2011). "Four Seasons to take Southern Cross's mantle as biggest care homes operator". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ Hawkes, Alex; Brindle, David (31 August 2011). "Southern Cross chief stands down with no severance pay". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ Alex Hawkes, Blackstone denies blame for Southern Cross's plight, The Guardian, 2 June 2011
- ^ Richard Wachman, Southern Cross's incurably flawed business model let down the vulnerable, The Guardian, 16 July 2011
- ^ Orchid View care home staff arrested over neglect, BBC News, 5 October 2011
- ^ Orchid View inquest: Home riddled by 'institutional abuse', BBC News, 18 October 2013
- ^ Orchid View inquest: Care inspectors' actions defended, BBC News, 15 October 2013
External links
- Southern Cross Healthcare (United Kingdom) companies grouped at OpenCorporates
- Southern Cross care homes: the list, map and other data presented by The Guardian
- Families hear of abuse and neglect at care home, BBC News index page, 18 October 2013