Care business changes ownership

Shrewsbury-based care business The Uplands at Oxon has been sold for an undisclosed sum to Aedifica, a European healthcare REIT.

It will be operated by Bondcare, who operate 60 homes nationwide and who recently took over the management of Meadowbrook care home in Oswestry.

Marches Care Holdings Ltd which owns and runs the Uplands at Oxon care home in Shrewsbury, was set up by Tony and Tricia West in 1985. It has remained in the family ever since, with the founders’ daughter, Mandy Thorn, taking the helm in 1993.

It has since become a recognised leader in the provision of dementia and older adult care with the creation of a new purpose-built nursing home at Bicton Heath which opened in 2007. The Uplands continues to work closely with local commissioners to offer a range of services supporting people home from hospital as well as providing the highest quality care for people with dementia and life-limiting illnesses.

Mrs Thorn said that while selling the company was not an easy decision, the opportunity offered by Bondcare would enable the care home to continue to offer the excellent care and support it is so well-known for and provide more opportunities for the existing management team and staff.

“This has not been an easy decision for my husband Mark and I to make, However, I am delighted that new operator, Bondcare – which is another established family-run business with huge experience in the industry – have assured us that the team and staff will remain in place at the Uplands with no change at all to the running of the home.

“In many ways it is the end of an era, but I also see it as the start of a new chapter which will see the Uplands go from strength to strength. I could not be more proud of the team at the Uplands – an outstanding group of health and care professionals – and I will miss both them and the business very much.”

Shropshire firms Aaron and Partners Solicitors and Dyke Yaxley Chartered Accountants acted for Marches Care Holdings throughout the sale.