Administrators Strike Deal With Bank To Cover Staff Pay After Closure Of Care Homes

Three care homes in the south of England which went into Administration last month have now closed following the successful relocation of all remaining residents.

The Administrators have also agreed a deal with the bank to ensure that the 113 staff who stayed on to care for the residents will be guaranteed to be paid in full.

The Old Rectory in Swanage, Delph House in Poole and Warwick Park Care Home in Plymouth announced in December that they planned to cease trading after running into financial difficulties. Management then began working with local councils and families to move residents to alternative accommodation.

Tom Grummitt and Andrew Smith of insolvency firm Bridgewood were appointed as Administrators on 17 January but were unable to secure the future of the homes as the closure plans were already well advanced.

Tom Grummitt said: “By the time we were appointed, some residents had already left and some of the local authorities which funded the majority of places had terminated their contracts. After taking account of this and the financial position of the homes, it was clear that we would be unable to continue to trade the homes and sell them as a going concern, so our priority was to ensure the safe relocation of the remaining residents.

“Staff worked tirelessly to maintain the quality of care and support the relocations, and we are very grateful for their efforts. Unfortunately the timing of the closures meant that under insolvency rules, they were not entitled to be paid as an expense of the Administrations and would have to join the queue of creditors awaiting payment, behind the bank and HMRC.

“We felt this was extremely unfair considering all the hard work staff had put in and spoke to the bank about the situation. We are pleased to say that it has very generously agreed to put up the funds to cover the full wage bill of around £73,000. We can assure staff who stayed on that they will be paid in full in the coming days and wish them well for the future.”

The Old Rectory and Delph House were both operated by of Hantona Ltd, while Warwick Park Care Home was operated by Warwick Park House Limited. Jacqueline Haigh was the sole director of both companies. All three properties will be put on to the market, with the proceeds of the sales being used to repay creditors.

Bridgewood is part of the Dow Schofield Watts network.