OakNorth Bank lends £18.5M to support the development of a new care home in Aberdeen

By Bridging Loan Directory 4th October 2021

OakNorth Bank – the UK bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs – has completed an £18.5M loan to Care Concern Group, one of the UK’s most highly-regarded care home operators.

Founded in 1991 by Balbir Johal, the Care Concern Group is a family-run business consisting of 78 care homes specialising in general nursing and dementia care across the UK.

The Group will use the structured finance facility from OakNorth Bank to develop a new 81-bedroom care home in Aberdeen, with facilities including hair salons, cinema rooms and a library, emphasising the Group’s focus on delivering a high calibre of care.

The funding will also be used to facilitate a sale and leaseback agreement with a leading European fund.

Manpreet Johal, CEO of Care Concern Group, said:

“With the number of people suffering with dementia in Scotland set to increase to over c.164,000 by 2036, the demand for specialised care will continue rising and the need for care homes which can meet these individuals’ needs will become even more important.

Our new site in Aberdeen will provide residents with the highest quality care from our expertly trained staff, making it another strong addition to our growing portfolio.

Having now worked alongside Deepesh and his team on numerous transactions, we were once again hugely impressed with their knowledge of our business and the care home industry as a whole, making them the ideal funding partner.”

Deepesh Thakrar, Senior Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth Bank, said:

“With an impressive average occupancy rate of 85% across its entire portfolio, Care Concern Group continues to be one of the most well-regarded and highly-performing care home operators in the UK.

Under Manpreet’s leadership, the Group has won over 100 industry awards for its design and premium approach to care, just as we aim to do with lending.

We’re delighted that Manpreet chose us once again as their funding partner and we look forward to working with them on more transactions in the future.”