Care home group hires chief operating officer with 'fresh perspective'

Care home owner Care UK has announced the appointment of Martin Friend to the newly-created role of chief operating officer.

Martin Friend starts his new job this January and will help transition the 26 Sunrise and Gracewell care homes, which come under Care UK’s management next month.

Care UK runs over 130 care homes across the UK.

Care UK’s chief executive Andrew Knight said: “The addition of this role into our business is a natural evolution given our ever-increasing scale.

“I have no doubt Martin’s experience, energy and his fresh perspective will bring a valuable contribution to our future growth plans, particularly our focus on expanding our role as a quality provider of homes for people funding their own care.”

Mr Friend joins Care UK from Nuffield Health, where he has been chief operating officer since 2017. In his previous role, he helped integrate acquisitions including Virgin Active and, more recently, Aspen Healthcare.

Martin Friend said: “I am incredibly excited about this opportunity.

“The arrival of teams from Sunrise and Gracewell, alongside Care UK’s already ambitious development programme, make this a fantastic time to be joining the company.

“My first priority will be to meet as many of the operations team as I can to really understand the challenges of the business and how we can best deliver on the company’s long-term goals.”

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