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Care group takes on ownership of seventh new home with Development Bank support

Gavin-Reid
Gavin Reid
Senior Portfolio Executive
Published:
Updated:
Buying a business
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Bankhouse Care Home

An Ebbw Vale care home has been taken on by a new owner, supported by a £2.97 million loan from the Development Bank of Wales.

Bankhouse Care Home, in Beaufort, provides residential, nursing and dementia care for 54 residents. After a period on the market, the care home has been bought by Abergavenny-based Oxford Care Group supported by £2.97 million from the Wales Flexible Investment Fund.

Oxford Care Group is owned by BP Khanal and Rama Khanal Guragain. This is the third time that the company has been supported by the Development Bank, having previously had funding to purchase Sketty House Care Home in Swansea, and Cefn Lodge Nursing Home in Neath. The addition of Bankhouse Care brings the total number of homes owned by BP and Rama across England and Wales to seven.

They said: “The investment we had from the Development Bank has allowed us to safeguard the future of this home. Without the Development Bank’s support, there is a real risk that Bankhouse Care Home could have been permanently closed – not just resulting in the need for current residents to be moved elsewhere and the loss of about 90 members of staff, but also impacting on suppliers and traders locally.

“We have always been very impressed by the Development Bank’s ethos of committing to investments which are about more than just returns. The support they’ve given us with expansion and purchases in the hugely important care sector has been fantastic.”

Gavin Reid, Senior Portfolio Executive at the Development Bank, said: “Care homes such as Bankhouse provide a vital, much-needed service in communities across Wales. We’re therefore very pleased to have supported the Oxford Care Group with the purchase of Bankhouse Care Home, safeguarding care and jobs in the local community.”

The loan for Oxford Care Group came from the Wales Flexible Investment Fund. It offers loans, mezzanine finance and equity investment for deals between £25,000 and £10 million, with terms of up to 15 years available.