Four Seasons Health Care Appoints CEO Of Its Private Care Homes Business

Four Seasons Health Care, the UK’s leading independent elderly and specialist care provider, has appointed Jeremy Richardson as Chief Executive Officer of its private care homes business. This is a chain of more than 80 homes that will offer high quality elderly care together with hotel standards of service and activities programmes designed primarily, but not exclusively, for self-funded clients who choose to be looked after in a care home.

Jeremy Richardson has had a successful career at board level with leading companies in the hotel and service sector and as a business consultant.  His involvement in the service sector began in 1999 at Welcome Break, where as Business Development & Strategy Director, he was responsible for amongst other things all non-core revenue streams.  He left Welcome Break in 2001 to set up, Kew Green Hotels, a company designed to own and operate branded hotels., Over nine years Kew Green grew to become one of the UK’s leading hotel management companies, owning or leasing and operating 22 hotels under a number of brands such as Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Courtyard by Marriott. He moved to Bourne Leisure, owner of Haven Holidays, Butlins and Warner Leisure Hotels in 2011 as a Main Board Director where he led a hugely successful cultural and business change programme within Haven. Most recently he was Executive Chairman of Menzies Hotels, on behalf of Lloyds Bank, where he successfully turned around the company before selling it in November 2013. Prior to going into the service sector he was a consultant with Bain & Company, one of the world’s leading strategy consulting businesses. He is a Non-Executive Director of the Goodwood Estate.

He is expected to take up his new position with Four Seasons in May.

Four Seasons Health Care is owned by Terra Firma, a leading private equity firm.
Guy Hands, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Terra Firma, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jeremy as the CEO of Four Seasons’ private care business. His expertise will be invaluable as we build the business by delivering excellence in clinical care together with an outstanding experience and value for our customers.”

Jeremy Richardson said: “I am excited at the prospect of moving into the elderly care sector. Having looked at it intensely over recent months, both in the UK and other countries, I think it is a dynamic market with opportunities for innovation. There are obvious parallels between the care and hospitality sectors, in both of which brand is represented by the quality of service delivered by the people on the front line. While high standards of care will remain central and foremost in the Four Seasons’ proposition, people are rightly becoming more discerning about other aspects of service and the overall customer experience is increasingly important. This is particularly so when people are self-funding their place in a home. I hope I can bring a fresh perspective and new thinking that is complementary to the exceptional care expertise already within the Four Seasons team.”

Ian Smith, Chairman and interim Group CEO of Four Seasons Health Care, said: “Jeremy has a track record of growing successful businesses that are based on customer service, making him exceptionally well suited to lead our private care business. I am very pleased to welcome him to our team and look forward to working with him.”