Christie Group PLC Embrace's care home portfolio sold to Sanctuary

TIDMCTG

Christie Group PLC

19 June 2017

19 June 2017

Christie Group plc

("Christie Group" or the "Company")

Christie & Co sells Embrace Group's care home portfolio to Sanctuary Group

Christie Group plc (CTG.L), the leading provider of Professional Business Services and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services to the leisure, retail and care markets, is pleased to announce that Christie & Co, its specialist provider of agency and advisory services, has successfully brokered the sale of a portfolio of 35 care homes on behalf of Embrace Group.

In one of the largest deals of the year so far in the sector, Christie & Co has sold the portfolio of predominantly purpose-built care homes to Sanctuary Group in an off market deal. The homes, based across the Midlands, North West, North East and Scotland are focused on both elderly residential and nursing care plus an element of specialist care, comprising a total of 1,650 beds and one supported living business.

The purchase by Sanctuary Group strengthens their national presence, particularly in the North and Scotland.

Martin Gould, Head of Brokerage for Care at Christie & Co, commented; "Having worked with Embrace over the past few years, this off market transaction is the culmination of our strong relationships. The sale demonstrates the strength and appetite for well performing portfolios that meet a strong compliance level."

Trish Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Embrace Group said; "Our priorities throughout have been to find the right organisation to take these services forward, and to ensure minimal disruption to the people supported and to the dedicated staff teams. Sanctuary Care shares our values of treating people with respect and dignity, and our commitment to providing the highest quality care and support. I would like to thank the team at Christie & Co for their expertise in helping Embrace and Sanctuary Care to navigate this process so effectively, with a real emphasis on minimising disruption for the people we support."

David Bennett, Sanctuary Group's Chief Executive, said; "Embrace Group shares with Sanctuary a commitment to good quality care for older people and has built a strong network of care homes with a workforce of highly motivated employees. We were attracted to this exciting opportunity because it will enable us to make an even greater difference to the lives of older people around the country and will further our charitable objective.

"We have assembled our existing care portfolio through a mixture of acquisition, development and self-build and as such, we have extensive experience of integrations of this nature. We believe that experience combined with a complete dedication to caring for older residents will ensure that these homes are seamlessly brought into Sanctuary. Sanctuary is committed to putting kindness at the heart of our care for older people, giving them and their families beautiful environments within which they can live fulfilled and happy lives."

Enquiries:

Christie Group plc

 
 Richard Lunn                                                                   020 7227 0716 
 Managing Director - Care, Christie & Co 
 David Rugg                                                                     020 7227 0707 
 Chief Executive 
 
 Dan Prickett                                                                   020 7227 0700 
 Chief Financial Officer 
 

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited:

Dominic Morley / Charles Leigh-Pemberton 020 7886 2906

Nominated Adviser & Broker

Notes to Editors:

Christie Group plc, quoted on AIM, is a leading professional business services group with 45 offices across the UK, Europe and Canada, catering to its specialist markets in the leisure, retail and care sectors.

Christie Group operates in two complementary business divisions: Professional Business Services (PBS) and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services (SISS). These divisions trade under the brand names: PBS - Christie & Co, Pinders, Christie Finance and Christie Insurance: SISS - Orridge, Venners and Vennersys.

Tracing its origins back to 1846, the Group has a long established reputation for offering essential services to client companies in agency, valuation services, investment, consultancy, project management, multi-functional trading systems and online ticketing services, stock audit and inventory management. The diversity of these services provides a natural balance to the Group's core agency business.

For more information, please go to www.christiegroup.com.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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June 19, 2017 09:23 ET (13:23 GMT)