Care home finance guides
Plain-English answers on buying, valuation, EBITDARM, rates, CQC and what lenders look for, from a specialist arranger.
Straight answers to the questions operators and buyers ask before they fund a care home. Written by Matt Lenzie, who has arranged more than £500 million of property and trading-business finance over 25 years. This is finance for the home as a business, not advice on paying care fees.
How to buy a care home
Buying a care home means buying a regulated trading business as well as a property. This guide walks through the process from search to completion, what it costs and how the finance is arranged.
Read the guide → ValuationHow a care home is valued
A care home is valued as a trading business, not just as a building. Understanding how a healthcare valuer arrives at a figure helps you price a purchase and judge how much a lender will advance.
Read the guide → ValuationEBITDARM and care home finance explained
EBITDARM is the earnings measure that sits at the centre of almost every care home valuation and loan. If you understand it you understand how your home will be priced and how much a lender will advance.
Read the guide → CostsCare home finance rates and costs
This guide sets out the indicative rates and costs of borrowing to buy, build or refinance a care home, and what drives the price a lender quotes.
Read the guide → LendingWhat lenders look for in a care home
Before a lender will fund a care home it builds a picture of the operator, the trading and the property. Knowing what it weighs helps you present a home in its best light and avoid the issues that derail deals.
Read the guide → LendingHow CQC ratings affect care home finance
The CQC rating is one of the first things a care home lender looks at. This guide explains how each rating changes the leverage, pricing and appetite you can expect, and how turnaround homes are financed.
Read the guide → DevelopmentCare home development finance explained
Building or converting a care home is funded differently from buying one. This guide explains how development finance is structured, what lenders advance, and why the demand backdrop is so strong.
Read the guide → BuyingHow much deposit do you need to buy a care home
The deposit is the first number most buyers want. This guide explains the typical 25 to 30 percent contribution, why it sits there, and what can move it up or down.
Read the guide → MarketPrivate and local-authority care home fees, and why they matter to lenders
A care home earns from two broad sources: private self-funders and local-authority placements. The balance between them shapes the strength of the home's income, which is exactly what lenders and valuers price.
Read the guide → ReferenceCare home finance glossary
The terms below come up constantly when buying, building or refinancing a care home. We have kept the definitions plain and tied them to how each term is used in a real deal.
Read the guide →Got a care home in mind?
Send us the home and the operator and we will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms within one working day.