Southern Cross Healthcare Group plc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Southern Cross Healthcare | |
| Type | Public (LSE: SCHE) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Darlington, UK (1997) |
| Headquarters | Darlington, UK |
Southern Cross Healthcare (Group plc) is an independent provider of health and social care services, meeting the needs of elderly and younger people in appropriately registered care centres. The group is currently the largest provider of care homes and long term care beds in the United Kingdom, operating over 570 care homes, 28,000+ beds and employing around 33,000 staff.
The company has grown rapidly since 1997 through a series of acquisitions and new developments. These have included the Ultima portfolio of 39 homes in April 2001 and the Trinity portfolio of 26 homes in February 2002.
In August 2002, the current management backed by West Private Equity and Healthcare Investments Limited, acquired Southern Cross through a management buy-out. This was followed in September 2004 by a secondary buy-out of the business by the current management together with Blackstone Capital Partners.
In February 2005, current management together with the Blackstone Group acquired the Highfield Care portfolio of 190 homes from NHP, and in November 2005 completed the acquisition of the leasehold interest of the Ashbourne Group of care homes. This latest acquisition included 193 additional homes, which brings the enlarged company to the operation of in excess of 570 care homes, providing more than 28,000 beds.
