HC-One has acquired 122 care homes from Bupa, subject to regulatory approval, in a deal believed to be in the region of £300 million.

Bupa will keep around 150 care homes and six Richmond Villages caring for more than 9,000 residents, with a further four care homes and two retirement villages under construction.

Bupa UK chief executive David Hynam said Bupa would remain one of the main providers of residential care in the UK, and a major investor in the sector.

“This move enables us to focus our investment to continue to provide high quality care for our residents, both now and in the future,” he said. “This year, Bupa will invest more than £120 million into refurbishing existing homes and building new care homes and retirement villages.

“Bupa and HC-One have a shared commitment to excellence in care. We will work together over the coming months to ensure there is minimal change for residents and their families, and that they continue to receive the high quality care from the same dedicated teams.”

The deal completes HC-One’s recently completed refinancing. Formed as a result of the Southern Cross collapse in 2011, HC-One was acquired in November 2014 in a transaction led by Court Cavendish, Formation Capital and Safanad in a deal that has already delivered more than £100m of investment in the HC-One business. Over the last three years the company has bought 30 homes from Meridian and 20 from Helen McArdle Care.

HC-One chairman Dr Chai Patel said the purchase of the Bupa care homes built his company’s sector leading investment programme on which huge amounts of time and resource on learning and development programmes, IT systems, and homes had been spent.

“We also have taken huge steps to ensure we operate with tried and tested processes that put residents first and which will support our continued growth,” said Dr Patel.

“The investment we have made gives us the confidence to reach out to serve even more local communities across Britain. We will be larger going forward but we will ensure that every single person we care for experiences the same culture and focus on kindness that have characterised HC-One since our first day of operation.

“The homes we have acquired from Bupa are dispersed across the UK, and demonstrate HC-One’s ongoing strategy to focus on strong regional growth. HC-One’s growth is financially sustainable – our debt levels are both prudent and manageable – and our ever strengthening and stable financial position means residents will continue to receive the kindest high-quality care through a range of specialist services and equally that we will continue to invest in our staff.

“I am truly delighted and honoured to announce this acquisition, the latest step in our journey from turnaround to transformation.”