In this issue of Healthcare Matters, we are pleased to feature Montane Care as our Broker of the Year.
Selling a care home is a decision with consequences that extend well beyond the transaction itself. For many owners, it represents the culmination of years of commitment to a business, its residents and its people. Financial considerations matter, but so do continuity, confidentiality and confidence in the future. Understanding how those priorities fit together is central to Montane Care’s approach, and provides the backdrop to its recognition as Broker of the Year by Healthcare Matters.
The past 12 months have brought activity and development. Completed sales, new instructions, office expansion and promotions within the team have contributed to a period of progress. Throughout that time, the emphasis has remained on delivering a personal service: understanding what clients want to achieve, providing practical advice and staying involved as their plans move towards completion.
Recent completions include Lyngate Residential Home in Bolton, Longwood Lodge in Oldham and Sable Cottage in Kelsall. Taken together, they illustrate the range of relationships that must be managed throughout a sale, from the first confidential discussion with an owner to the final stages of negotiation and completion.
Alongside these transactions, Montane Care has secured instructions covering individual homes and larger portfolios. The motivations behind those instructions vary. Some owners are preparing for retirement, others are restructuring their interests, and some are responding to changing personal circumstances. For purchasers, an acquisition may represent a first step into ownership or an opportunity to expand an established operation. Understanding those objectives helps the team identify where there is a credible fit.
The company’s recent activity demonstrates commercial progress. Beyond completed sales, repeat instructions and relationships that develop into mandates over time are meaningful measures of confidence in the service. In one example, a two-home sale led to an instruction involving a further five homes. That continuing relationship demonstrates how the experience of one transaction can shape an owner’s choice of adviser for the next.
Commercial success also depends on recognising when a client needs time. An owner may benefit from improving performance, addressing gaps in information or reviewing the business before launching a sale. Montane Care has supported owners through that preparatory period, including situations where a later launch offered a stronger basis for presenting the business. Such advice requires a willingness to look beyond the immediate instruction and consider the client’s longer-term position.
The past year has also seen investment in the company’s physical presence. In September, Montane Care opened an office in Spinningfields, Manchester, adding a city-centre location to its network. The opening represents a further step in the development of the business and its presence across the North West, supporting relationships with operators, purchasers and the professional community involved in care home transactions.
The Manchester office complements the Lancashire base at Strawberry Fields Digital Hub in Chorley, which provides office and boardroom space for the team and private client discussions. Together, these locations support a business whose work involves regular contact with owners and advisers, alongside travel to care homes and meetings across the region and further afield. A confidential conversation can often be the starting point for a relationship that develops over several years.
Investment in people has accompanied that expansion. Darren Edwards’ promotion to Associate Director, alongside Jason Payne’s promotion at the same time, marked an important development within the team. Recognising the contributions of existing colleagues provides continuity as the company develops, retaining the knowledge and relationships that clients value. Both promotions form part of a year in which Montane Care has strengthened its presence while acknowledging the people supporting it.
Behind the scenes, work on transaction tracking, internal procedures and staff onboarding has supported the same objective. Clear processes help colleagues maintain visibility over instructions, record key developments and follow up on outstanding matters. For clients, the benefit is practical: a better-informed conversation, clearer next steps and a consistent approach as a transaction passes through different stages. Good organisation gives the team more capacity to focus on individual circumstances.
Montane Care’s services cover confidential business appraisals, preparation for sale, targeted marketing, purchaser qualification, negotiation and progression through to completion. The team also supports buyers seeking individual homes or opportunities to grow a portfolio, including retained acquisition searches. These services are connected by an emphasis on understanding the client’s position before recommending how to proceed.
An appraisal, for example, can help an owner consider a range of options rather than commit immediately to a sale. It creates an opportunity to discuss trading performance, the property, the management structure and the information that prospective purchasers are likely to require. For someone considering retirement or succession, that early discussion can help turn an uncertain intention into a more manageable plan, with time to prepare and consider the implications.
Preparation matters because a care home is both a trading business and a setting in which people live and work. Buyers need to understand the financial information alongside the operational picture. Owners need to explain the strengths of the business accurately, while anticipating reasonable questions. Montane Care helps bring those considerations together so that discussions are based on a clear understanding of the opportunity and the seller’s objectives.
Confidentiality runs through that process. News of a possible sale can prompt questions among employees, residents and families before there is a definite outcome to communicate. The timing and handling of information therefore require care. Montane Care considers how an opportunity should be presented, which purchasers should receive details and when introductions or visits are appropriate, with the aim of protecting the owner’s position and limiting unnecessary disruption.
Initial purchaser discussions, including Teams meetings before viewings where appropriate, help establish whether an opportunity is suitable. They allow questions to be explored and expectations to be understood before arranging a visit. For operators managing busy homes, that qualification process is valuable: it makes the time devoted to a potential transaction more purposeful and reduces avoidable demands on the business.
Assessing a purchaser also involves looking beyond an expression of interest or an indicative offer. Financial resources, operational experience, intended use and the ability to progress all influence the credibility of a proposal. A successful introduction brings together parties whose expectations can realistically be aligned. The work undertaken at this stage helps an owner evaluate the overall proposition, including the practical route towards completion.
That judgement is particularly important where an owner feels a strong responsibility towards the home’s future. Montane Care has supported situations in which operational fit carried more weight than the highest indicative offer. Price remains important, but the terms, deliverability and purchaser’s intentions can materially affect a seller’s decision. The adviser’s role is to help the client understand those factors and reach a considered choice.
Agreeing terms is an important milestone, but considerable work may still be needed. Questions arising during due diligence, changes to a proposed structure and negotiations over completion arrangements can all require attention. Montane Care works alongside the parties’ solicitors and other advisers to help keep discussions moving. Its involvement has included helping parties address difficult negotiations and changes in transaction structure, while respecting the role of each professional adviser.
Acquisitions and sales aren’t just our repertoire; the wider Montane Group offers related support where appropriate. Clients can be introduced to Montane Finance for specialist funding assistance and Montane Insurance Services for commercial insurance advice. Acquiring or selling a business often brings connected decisions into focus, and access to relevant colleagues can help clients explore those requirements as their plans develop. Each introduction is guided by the needs of the individual client and transaction.
Relationships across the care sector remain equally important. Exhibitions, operator conversations and initiatives such as Montane Clay & Connect provide opportunities to bring people together and maintain contact beyond live instructions. Those exchanges help the team understand concerns influencing owners’ plans and give operators space to speak with others who share an interest in the sector.
They also reinforce the value of being accessible before formal advice is required.
Looking ahead, the immediate focus is on progressing existing instructions, supporting clients through current transactions and developing relationships with credible purchasers. The Manchester and Chorley offices provide a foundation for those conversations, while continued attention to internal processes can help the team maintain a consistent and thorough service. Building on recent activity also means preserving the personal involvement that has helped establish client confidence.
Over the longer term, the ambition is to develop the business’s reach and capabilities while keeping the client experience central. That means bringing together sector knowledge, capable people and effective systems, with room for individual judgement. As the company grows, owners should continue to feel that their circumstances are understood and that the advice they receive reflects their priorities, whether their plans involve a single home or a larger portfolio.
Being selected as Broker of the Year is a source of pride for Montane Care and an opportunity to recognise a collective effort. Completed transactions depend on contributions from across the team, as well as the trust of clients and the work of solicitors, funders and other advisers. The award provides a moment to acknowledge those relationships and the professionalism required to guide significant decisions through to an outcome.
For care home operators considering retirement, expansion or a future change of direction, an early conversation can be invaluable. There does not need to be an immediate intention to sell. Exploring the options, understanding what preparation may be useful and discussing the owner’s objectives can all help shape the next step. Montane Care welcomes those confidential discussions as part of its continuing commitment to the
people behind care businesses.
Find out more at:
www.montanecare.co.uk