Provence House

As Chairman of the company, Chris graduated in 2015 with a degree (not bad for a 56-year-old at the time!) in Dementia Studies from Bradford University, the leading light in research and training into the physical and psychological effects of the debilitating and progressive condition.

To be candid, he did not of course do this degree to improve his CV, but because he saw it as his duty and responsibility to understand issues facing many of his residents, their loved ones and his staff every single day.

With more than 20 years of experience in the care sector as a commercial mortgage broker, the time came in 2005 to move across into owning and operating care homes himself. The rest is history!

Anthony is a very safe pair of hands for the role of Managing Director at Lavender Fields. He has gained enormous experience in all aspects of care to augment his previous career in Healthcare Information Technology. He gained a university degree in Business Computing, before taking up positions at two of the leading technology companies, EMIS, followed by Accenture, both of whom specialise in healthcare technology. With several years of industry experience under his belt, he decided to join the family business in 2006. In his position as IT Director, he was able to bring the very latest technology to both the care side of the business and of course the accounting side. However, wishing to gain extensive knowledge of all sides of the business, he embarked on a journey of numerous care courses, including delivery of care relating to dementia, including Dementia Care Mapping with his fellow Directors a few years ago.

Anthony is enormously busy at the care village as we move closer towards the care home opening day early in early 2024, and recently commented, “To finally see this long-held vision coming to fruition really is a dream come true. To be at the helm of our family company, putting into practice the vision my father had a decade ago makes me prouder than words could possibly say.”

Leanne Hatch has been with us for over fifteen years, starting as a care assistant, before moving to senior carer, then to head of shift, assistant manager, and then eventually manager of one of our care homes. Care is very closely monitored these days by numerous regulatory bodies, as of course, it should be. In the last few years, however, a new British Standard (BS8606) has been created by an independent regulator of great importance within the sector. At the time of writing, they have performed over 2,000 inspections under that standard, at care homes up and down the country. Out of all these inspections, very few certificates have ever been awarded. Not only was Leanne’s former home the first to receive the award, but it was also the first to retain it at their next inspection and the one after that!

More than this though, I am confident that anyone who comes into contact with her – however regularly, and in whatever capacity – will be left with that warm glow of knowing that she will always ensure that people here are looked after. I trust her completely and have awarded her the prize role of running Lavender Fields care operations of what is personally my flagship location. I cannot speak more highly than this. Her standards are impeccable, and she has already made great strides in overseeing the close care we’ve offered for the last twelve months. I am supremely confident that Leanne is the best choice to take us forward in relation to all the care we offer here and am equally confident that everybody else will feel the same way.

Chris’ titles would stretch right across the page, were we to list everything he ‘Excels’ in! A chartered accountant by profession, working in both accountancy practices and then later in industry, unlike any other accountant we have ever known, he busies himself on all aspects of care delivery. He is the guy responsible for overseeing the entire financial operations of the company, which allows us to make quick financial decisions on all aspects of the business. However, he spends much of his time in dialogue with the managers, supporting them on all aspects of daily care, ensuring correct staffing levels, equipment and environment are catered for at all times.

Not an easy task. Lavender Fields has given him another thing to pour all over to make sure we get it right! He says, “I cannot believe that this was all conceived nearly a decade ago and now here we are! It really is the culmination of all we have learnt that is great about the sector, all within one community!”

Andrew gained a law degree and worked extensively for the Crown Prosecution Service in West Yorkshire prior to joining us. We approached him about a change of career path and I think it is true to say that neither side has regretted it. His deep examination of the legal aspects of running care homes in an ever-complex world, where health and safety issues, the Mental Capacity Act and numerous other critical issues are at the fore, have proved vital in delivering the correct decisions for us. He combines all of this with running our Human Resources team, overseeing the joining and leaving side of the company which is never an easy path to walk down … and of course, he relishes this new challenge. He commented, “I cannot believe we are here at last! I remember Chris telling me about his ideas when we first talked and although it was a planning ‘long shot’ due to the issues surrounding such an amazing location, he and indeed we, got there in the end! Massively exciting!”

Emma is the Finance Director of our wider care home interests in the North of England and now we are delighted to announce that the Lavender Fields Care Village site also falls within her remit. She joined us as a fully qualified Chartered Accountant back in 2006 and has been with us throughout our journey in care to the present day. It was a great decision we made back then! Her commitment to the cause, perennially putting in very long hours to meet accounting deadlines set upon us by the powers that be and our various banking teams, is not an easy task, but she rises to the task with alacrity and good humour! Clearly, numbers were always her first love!

Emma heads up an extensive accounting team at our HQ but regularly makes trips around the homes in order to fully understand the human side behind the numbers, something she sees as a vital part of her work. She has also nurtured a close-knit team at HQ that work equally hard for her and are ambitious in their own right, thus ensuring total commitment from all members of our accounting division, vital to the smooth running of every organisation. Emma says: “We started acquiring care homes in late 2005 and so to have joined in early 2006 puts me pretty much there at the start of this journey.

Much is said about the family angle at Lavender Fields and I can say that this extends way beyond there. We are a very close-knit ownership team within Lavender and the wider care home group and we all believe that this holistic approach to care has served us well. The care of residents is THE biggest thing in our working lives and my role is to ensure a smooth financing function that enables Directors to make the right decisions in a timely manner, thus ensuring that the right funds get into the right care hands at the right time. I am so proud of all we have achieved together over the years and Lavender Fields has to be the most exciting chapter yet!”