Business acquisition opportunity
Residential and dementia care home group, the Midlands
Anonymised as Project Aldgrove
Anonymised mandate, codename PROJECT ALDGROVE
Residential and dementia care home group, the Midlands
Residential and dementia care homes
Why this business is called Project Aldgrove
Project Aldgrove is a working codename, chosen at random by DealFlowAgent (DFA) and standard practice in mergers and acquisitions. It exists so the business can be discussed with acquirers, funders and advisers without naming the company or alerting its staff, customers and competitors. The codename is not connected to the company, its brand or its trading name, and searching for it online will return nothing about this business. Everything you need in order to judge fit is on this page in banded form. The company is named to one verified acquirer only, after the owner approves that specific introduction in writing.
A family-owned group of freehold residential and dementia care homes in the Midlands, trading above ninety per cent occupancy with a majority private fee mix. Registered managers are in post at every home, all homes are registered with the Care Quality Commission and none carries outstanding enforcement action. Not on the market, and not represented by anyone else.
Verified acquirers only. A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis. Identity is disclosed at the third gate, with the owner's written approval.
Indicative value range
£14M to £28M
Derived from comparable UK transactions in this sector over the last 24 months. This is a market reference, not the owner's number. The reserve is set separately and disclosed under non-disclosure agreement.
- Sector
- Residential and dementia care
- Region
- The Midlands
- Ownership
- Family-owned
- Property
- Freehold
- Structure sought
- 60% to 100%
- Adviser status
- Unrepresented
£8-11M
Revenue
22-27%
EBITDA margin
90%+
Occupancy
Majority
Private fee share
3 to 5
Homes
180-260
Registered beds
25+ yrs
Trading history
Freehold, held within the group
Property
Why every figure is a band
Companies on this register are real businesses with staff, customers and suppliers who do not know their owner is listening to the market. Exact figures are a fingerprint: a precise turnover, a filing date and a region will narrow most UK sectors to a single company. These bands are wide enough to protect identity and wide enough that a growing business does not fall out of its own mandate. Every band is verified against filed accounts and management information held by DealFlowAgent (DFA). Precise figures are released under a non-disclosure agreement.
01 Opportunity at a glance
What the business actually does
The group operates a small number of clustered freehold homes providing residential, dementia and respite care. Occupancy has held above ninety per cent, agency staffing use is low by sector standards, and each home has a registered manager in post rather than an interim arrangement.
Fee income is effectively recurring, with residents funded through a mix of private payers, local authority placements and NHS continuing healthcare, weighted toward private fees.
- Fee mix
- Majority private, balance local authority and continuing healthcare
- Occupancy
- Above 90% sustained
- Homes
- 3 to 5, clustered rather than dispersed
- Registered beds
- 180 to 260
- Registered managers
- In post at every home
- Agency staffing use
- Low relative to sector
- CQC position
- All homes registered, no outstanding enforcement
- Property
- Freehold, held within the group
02 Why now
Sector timing
Demand for dementia beds continues to exceed supply in most of the Midlands, and new development is constrained by build cost. Buyers are paying for freehold, high-occupancy homes with settled management teams, because the operational risk in this sector sits with staffing and regulation rather than with demand.
Nothing distressed. The family has set a reserve so that only acquirers prepared to meet it are ever put in front of them.
What has changed for this owner
Nothing distressed. The second generation of the family runs the homes and does not intend to take on further sites. The decision was to see what a qualified acquirer would pay, without unsettling residents, families or registered managers through a public process.
03 Financial profile
Three years, published as bands
Three years apart, published as bands and verified against filed accounts and management information. Property is presented separately so an acquirer can consider an operating or a propco structure.
| Measure | Three years ago | Most recent full year |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £6-9M | £8-11M |
| Occupancy | 87%+ | 90%+ |
| EBITDA margin | 19-24% | 22-27% |
| Agency staffing cost | Low | Low and falling |
| Property | Freehold, valued separately, disclosed under NDA | |
| Owner remuneration adjustment | Identified and quantified | |
Where the earnings quality sits
- Fee growth has come from mix and occupancy rather than from a single annual uplift.
- Agency staffing use is low, so the cost base does not normalise downward for a buyer.
- Registered managers are in post, which removes the most common post-completion risk.
- Property is freehold and valued separately from the operating business.
04 The owner's position
Stated in advance, in writing
| Question | Stated position |
|---|---|
| Is the business for sale? | No |
| Would they transact at the right figure? | Yes, confirmed in writing |
| Reserve figure | Set, disclosed under NDA |
| Preferred structure | 60% to 100% of equity |
| Rollover appetite | Open to a modest rollover |
| Post-completion involvement | 6 to 18 months, handover focused |
| Management team | Registered managers expected to remain |
| Represented elsewhere? | No adviser, no other process |
What a reserve figure is
A reserve, as at auction. Before a mandate goes live, the owner completes a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and commits, in writing, to the figure at which they will engage seriously. It is private and it is never published. Nothing below it is ever put in front of them, so no acquirer is invited into a conversation that was never going to happen, and the owner is never asked to decline a low offer.
The reserve is disclosed to verified acquirers at non-disclosure agreement stage. It is a threshold for engagement. It is not an asking price and it is not a cap.
These are people's homes. I will not sell to someone whose first move is to cut the staffing rota.
05 Transaction process
The four gates
01
Acquirer verification.
Funding position, sector experience, prior completions and decision-making authority are confirmed by DealFlowAgent (DFA) before any company information is released. Unfunded parties and brokers acting without a named principal do not proceed.
No company information released
02
Non-disclosure agreement and financial pack.
A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure, the contract base analysis and the management structure. The company is still not named.
Identity withheld
03
Owner approval and introduction.
We put the acquirer to the owner with a written profile covering their intent, their integration approach and their treatment of teams in previous acquisitions. The owner decides. Only on their written approval is the company named and a meeting arranged.
Owner's written approval required
04
Indicative offer.
Acquirers who meet the reserve are invited to submit an indicative offer. Where more than one qualifies, we run a structured process from that point.
Reserve must be met
06 Which acquirers this suits
A strong fit, and not a fit
A strong fit
- Care groups seeking freehold homes with mature registrations
- Healthcare real estate investors with an operating partner
- Private equity platforms building a regional care group
- Acquirers with existing Midlands provision seeking density
Not a fit
- Parties without committed funding at the indicative range
- Buyers whose model depends on cutting staffing ratios
- Structures weighted heavily to deferred consideration
- Acquirers intending to close or repurpose a home
07 About the Off-Market Register
What this register is
How the register works, and where to start
The Off-Market Register carries companies that are not for sale, at prices their owners have already set. Each owner has completed a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and committed in writing to the figure at which they will engage.
Every acquirer is verified before they see anything, every document released is watermarked to the recipient, and every access is logged. Before a mandate goes live it is tested three ways for de-anonymisation, and all three tests must fail to identify the company.
If you own a business in this sector, start with the free valuation, read the sector valuation guides or speak to us confidentially. If you acquire businesses, request acquirer access.
08 Questions
Answered in full
If the owner is not selling, is this a waste of my time?
The owner has committed a reserve figure in writing and has agreed in advance to meet acquirers who clear it. You are seeing a business before any process exists, without a competitive auction and without six other parties at the table. What you are not getting is a motivated seller, and you should price accordingly.
Why are the figures banded?
Because precise figures identify the company. A turnover to the pound, a filing date and a region will narrow most UK sectors to one business. Exact figures are released at non-disclosure agreement stage.
Will I be told the reserve before I commit time?
Yes. The reserve is disclosed at non-disclosure agreement stage, before any meeting and before any diligence.
Can I approach the company directly if I work out who it is?
Acquirers who circumvent the register are removed permanently and the owner is informed.
Who pays DealFlowAgent (DFA)?
The owner, on completion only. There is no charge to acquirers at any stage, and no fee is payable by anyone if a transaction does not complete.
Own a business like this one?
Every mandate on this register began with a ninety-second valuation and a conversation. No retainer, no exclusivity, and your company is never named until you approve a specific introduction in writing.
Request access to Project Aldgrove
Verification takes under a working day. On approval you receive the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis under a non-disclosure agreement. The company is named only with the owner's written approval.
DealFlowAgent (DFA)
Residential and dementia care homes
Project Aldgrove is a confidential mandate on the DealFlowAgent (DFA) Off-Market Register. All figures are banded and verified against filed accounts and management information. Nothing on this page constitutes an offer or an invitation to treat. DealFlowAgent is a trading name of BTB Holdings Ltd, registered in England and Wales.
