Newsroom
Castleoak´s Executive Chairman, Melville Knight, has declared that the ‘past twelve months have been like no other in living memory’ while ‘the good news for providers is that development has never made more sense’.
His comments come from the Group’s just-published Annual Review, which, he says, is as much a look forward as a retrospective and reflects the changes and pressure points felt by the care sector over the past 18 months.
“This year’s publication reports on the twelve months to 31 March 2009, a period of highs and lows,” says Mr Knight.
“We saw our highest turnover to date (£69 million) while also preparing for a reduction in that turnover, to a projected £50 million in the twelve months to March next year. So this year’s Annual Review really is as much a look ahead as it is the more customary look back over the past financial year’s activity.”
Castleoak has tackled the unique challenges of current times head-on, including the pain of having to reduce staff numbers by 15% and the expansion of its offer, to embrace the full range of development services.
“We have seen steady progress with our development activities, and are making good progress in securing a development fund to enable us to acquire and develop more sites to offer to providers on a leasehold, freehold or hybrid basis,” says Mel Knight.
“Our targeted land-finding service, for example, is proving popular with providers who are looking to purchase and develop sites themselves but who may lack the time, resources or experience to start the process.”
Mr Knight is convinced of the development opportunity for the care sector, that exists alongside the challenges of current times.
“Falling land and construction prices beside mushrooming demand mean that development has never made more sense,” he says.
“We are, therefore, strange as it may seem, given how confidence has been rocked in the past year, standing on the edge of another opportunity.”
Please click here to view the Company Review June 2009