Mental health service operator, Care Principles, has been put up for sale by its owner Barclays Capital.
Four Seasons Healthcare is currently in talks to acquire the business of Care Principles, considered to be a good fit for Four Seasons’ division Huntercombe Group, which runs
care homes specialising in mental health problems, brain injury and care of children with special needs.
Four Seasons is working to finalise an extension on its debt repayments that will enable it to purchase the business. 75 per cent approval is needed from its bondholders, or Care Principles will be auctioned off instead.
Barclays Capital supported Three Delta in its purchase of Care Principles in 2007 for a total of £270 million. Barclays took control of the care operator last year, however, when Three Delta struggled under the weight of hefty debts.
Barclays wrote down the value of the Suffolk-based business by over £200 million in 2009. For the year to April 2009 profits stood at £4.5 million.
Founded in 1997, the service has 1,500 staff attending to 430 beds in 16 homes and hospitals in the UK.
