Sovereign Capital supports £12.5 million institutional buy-out of UK specialist care homes group

Sovereign Capital Limited ("Sovereign Capital") the independent mid-market UK private equity provider announces that it has completed the £12.5 million institutional buy-out of Orchard End Group ("OEG"), a group of specialist care homes for adults with Permanent Learning Disabilities ("PLD").

Founded in 1992, OEG has eight care homes in Gloucestershire. Over 110 staff provide specialist services and residential care for adults with complex needs and severe learning disabilities at the more challenging end of the PLD spectrum. There remains a real shortage of specialist care facilities focused on residents who have complex needs and this is reflected in specialist providers such as OEG becoming national centres of excellence for this type of care.

OEG was looking for a buyer that would take the group onto the next stage of its development and Sovereign Capital was able to structure a transaction that fulfilled this requirement. OEG will be managed by Community Homes of Intensive Care and Education (C.H.O.I.C.E.). Paul Gold led the MBO of C.H.O.I.C.E., a roll-out and buy & build, with backing from Sovereign Capital in March 2002. Since then, C.H.O.I.C.E. has seen significant organic growth and has doubled the number of clients under its care. The C.H.O.I.C.E. management team is ideally positioned to maintain the quality of care on offer at OEG whilst expanding the range of services.

This acquisition further demonstrates Sovereign Capital's continuing commitment to investing in health and social care. Recent investments, in addition to C.H.O.I.C.E., include PCS and SENAD, both focusing on the provision of care and education to children with special needs, and Complete Group which provides specialist homecare for adults with spinal injury.

Andrew Hayden, Director, Sovereign Capital commented:

"There is increasing recognition of the need for specialist care facilities for both children and adults and the demand for these services continues to grow. OEG is a quality operator with a strong reputation for providing its clients with the best in care. Sovereign knows the sector well and we believe that our financial commitment and contact base will help strengthen OEG's position in the marketplace."

Paul Gold, Chief Executive Officer of C.H.O.I.C.E., commented:

"Since the MBO of C.H.O.I.C.E., the company has seen tremendous organic growth and fully understands the needs of our clients who are at the more challenging end of the PLD spectrum. Such complex needs require specialist care to facilitate positive client outcomes and we look forward to working with the OEG staff, the clients and their families."