As well as enjoying rapid expansion in the last few years, Lovett Care recently came close to winning a prestigious Pinder Healthcare Award after its Twyford House site in Cheshire was shortlisted within the Best Regeneration Project category. Although the company ultimately just missed out on an accolade, the nomination highlights its quality-led approach.
After operating two care homes for a number of years, Twyford House was Lovett Care’s third acquisition. The site signified a change in strategy for the business, as it is a five-star luxury home aimed at the private pay market. It opened its doors in August 2020, since then the current owners have gone on to acquire a further six homes and have sold one site, meaning that it currently has eight homes within its estate.
“During the pandemic we’ve basically gone from two to eight care homes,” explains Liam Bedson, Financial Director. “I’ve been with the business since January 2020 and an Operations Director was also brought in just before me. Along with the CEO, the three of us have helped manage the expansion process, which has been quite smooth despite the obvious challenges of lockdown.”
In terms of the Pinder Healthcare Award recognition, much of it stems from the fact that Twyford House essentially provided a blank canvas for Lovett Care to work on, as Mr Bedson outlines: “It was a former office building that had been left vacant. We acquired it with the assistance of Seddon Construction. It literally had the perfect layout, location and grounds for a care home, so the architects, Condy Lofthouse, had free reign to come up with the design for a 70-bed luxury care home with an abundance of communal areas, both inside and out. It was a fantastic opportunity to complete a high quality offering and we have been delighted with the end result. It has a cinema room, various therapy rooms, a sensory room and dining rooms for different styles of dining. All the elements have come together to create a superb experience for our residents.
“We now want to have more care homes like Twyford House, which is already ahead of schedule in being well over half-full, so we’re currently looking to acquire further sites. We have some possibilities in place, although with the acquisition and planning process it can take time. We’re predominately based in the north-west but we are open to the possibility of moving further South and East if necessary.”
If the Twyford House site is anything to go by, Lovett Care looks set to make an even greater impact within the marketplace and further recognition from the Pinder Healthcare Awards in the future can’t be ruled out.