Anchor completes £100m deal with LNT to purchase 24 care homes

Specialist property advisers Christie + Co have brokered a £100m deal between Anchor and LNT Group for the purchase of 24 residential care homes.

A number of employees and support staff have been transferred to Anchor’s recently purchased care homes, which were previously run by LNT Group subsidiary Ideal Carehomes.

Anchor's chief executive, Jane Ashcroft, said: “This deal represents significant growth for Anchor, in line with our business plan. It means we can provide happy living to many more older people.

"We are committed to providing a choice of great places and ways to live and are really pleased to be welcoming new residents and colleagues to the Anchor family.”

The care homes, situated in the north and midlands, provide a total of 1,317 en-suite rooms for older people, including those living with dementia.

The opportunity to purchase the homes has allowed Anchor to acquire the largest residential only, purpose built care home portfolio in the UK, operating up to 114 care homes.

Lawrence Tomlinson, Chairman of LNT Group, said: “It is a pleasure to work with Anchor especially as they share many of our core values. Having previously sold turn-of-key care homes to Anchor, we already have a well-established relationship which made the deal possible – we believe it to be the biggest deal of its kind since the financial crisis in 2008.

“We had not planned to sell these homes but when the opportunity arose, I knew it was a perfect fit for all parties and would enable us to continue to grow our relationship with Anchor.”

Richard Lunn, head of care at specialist property adviser Christie + Co, who brokered the transaction, commented: “This is a substantial deal and reflects an exceptional opportunity for Anchor to acquire the largest purpose-built residential-only care home portfolio in the UK. All the homes being purchased are freehold and were built within the last five years.”

LNT, a care home construction company, has also recently built Anchor's Buckingham Lodge care home in Aylesbury, which opened in April 2015 and Maple Tree Court in Kidsgrove, which opened in August 2015.

Anchor provides retirement housing to rent and to buy, retirement villages and residential care homes, including specialist dementia care, from 1,000 locations across England.