In this episode of the Care CEO Success Stories, Adam James of Springup PR talks with Laura Taylor, CEO of Berkley Care, which operates 12 luxury care homes across eight counties in England.

Laura joined Berkley in 2021, became CEO in September 2023, and in March 2024 helped lead a management team buyout of operations from Clariane, a European health care provider.

Laura has worked in health and social care throughout her entire career and in this episode she shares the story of her life working in care and offers her advice on management buyouts drawing on her own experiences including:

• The timeframe of the management buyout and the support Laura received from different partners.

· The “significant opportunity” to take a real ownership of the business, rather than working as a senior executive team.

* How Laura delivered “challenging” management presentations to potential future investors How Berkley has grown from 6 to 12 homes during Laura’s tenure.

· Laura’s partnership with real estate investors Elevation Healthcare Properties which was about the financial benefits in terms of the acquisition and also the “cultural fit between the organisations.”

• The “terrifying and emotionally tough” process of undertaking a management buyout.

• How it was a “big risk, with big reward” strategy to be your own boss and making decisions about the future of the business.

• How it has been “extremely empowering” - and the passion Laura has about the care and support they provide residents.

• The benefits of working with a real estate investor who wants to have a good quality operator in place.

• Laura’s aspirations to grow the business and improve development opportunities and new builds to keep delivering Berkley Care across the UK.

• Tips on financing to acquire operating companies and giving confidence in revenue projections and business performance that underpin decision-making.

• Using detailed modelling to ensure your ability to repay finance and meet commitments.

• Providing executive coaching and offering a confidential sounding board for navigating challenges.

• Having a strong alignment between the management team members which reinforces focus and resilience.

• The importance of internal communication which ensures clarity and stability by explaining the reasons for the buyout and the future vision to the team.

• How Laura shifted from functional leadership to shared accountability and project-based operations.

• Developing and began implementing a growth strategy and how you should “expect an emotional journey with highs and lows.”

In this episode, of the Care CEO Success Stories podcast, host Adam James of Springup PR, interviews Larry Grady, Chief Executive of Purley Park Trust that supports adults with learning disabilities.

Larry shares insights from his extensive experience in social care, highlighting the critical difference between stated values and the behaviours that underpin them.

He emphasises that the real impact of care comes from personal interactions and the attitudes of staff rather than just the organisation's mission statement.

Larry discusses the significance of creating a culture where behaviours are continuously observed, learned from, and improved upon.

He advocates for direct engagement with staff to foster a sense of community and support.

Larry illustrates the necessity for open conversations and shared learning to enhance care quality by addressing the challenges faced in the care industry, particularly concerning staff morale and the need for continuous learning in an evolving environment.

Larry provides practical advice for care leaders on prioritising behaviours that align with values, emphasising that genuine care is not only about procedures but also about how staff connect with those they support, including:

Key Takeaways:

• Recognising the gap between stated values and actual behaviours in care organisations.

• Prioritising personal interactions in care delivery to enhance resident experiences.

• Fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement through behaviour observation.

• Engaging directly with staff to build relationships and promote open communication.

• Addressing operational challenges by creating an environment of support and collaboration.

• Emphasising the importance of staff morale and well-being in delivering quality care.

• Learning from real-life situations to develop better practices in care delivery.

• Promoting a strategic approach to care management that aligns values with behaviours.

• Encouraging feedback from both staff and residents to inform care practices.

• Advocating for transparent communication within teams and with families to build trust.

In this episode of Care CEO Success Stories, Adam James of Springup PR talks with Nigel Denny, Chair and Chief Executive of Ashberry Healthcare, which has seven care homes across England and Wales.

Nigel joined the company in 2016 from hospitality where he worked for hotel-chain Stakkis.

Stakkis’s founder was in need of finding care for his mother and struggled to find anything appropriate so Nigel toured around 200 homes in Scotland to find suitable sites to launch some care homes.

In this episode, Nigel shares the story of his journey, the challenges he has faced and how he recovered from the setbacks to run his own care company including:

• His tour of around 200 care homes in Scotland to find suitable sites and the initial “aggressive” building programme.

• His “forward thinking” approach that saw new builds needing to be built in such a way that it would be possible to convert them into hotels if the care home sector did not work out.

• The fairly severe trouble the upstart firm faced and how they were told “the care homes would have to go” if they could not raise £50 million to buy them.

• How Nigel and four others managed to raise the funds to purchase the homes and were well supported for the next couple of years by the investors and eventually floated on the stock market.

• The sale of the business to Southern Cross, Bupa and other large operators which saw Nigel spend a few years in other sectors such as a company working with people with learning disabilities and opening veterinary practices.

• Joining Ashberry Healthcare which was “in a bit of a mess operationally and financially,” and how Nigel was asked to take on a role as Managing Director.

• The work Nigel did trying to sort out the finances and the struggles of the pandemic.

• The current situation in his homes which are all “doing exceptionally well in terms of occupancy, profitability and quality.”

• How creating a multi-home company requires many different skills from different people and how “you have to be committed to the journey ahead, with good leadership, together with good corporate knowledge or processes and procedures.”

• The importance of visiting homes regularly, to keep on top of issues, and to hear about the staff and their families.

• Providing managers a great deal of autonomy because “I trust them to run the business” and the role of managers in supporting the community.

• How his two longest serving managers had never managed a care home before but through the “Nigel Denny School of Management”, they have become award winning managers.

• Nigel’s core values of loyalty, integrity and compassion and how “you can keep everything personal and make things work.”

• Nigel’s advice on how to get into providing care from buying into a business, raising finance and thinking of the size you want it to be.

• Learning from mistakes, getting your recruitment of managers right, and supporting them properly.