Newsroom
Executive Chairman, Mel Knight, remains cautious as Castleoak starts work on five new projects for four customers within just a couple of weeks.
The £35 million worth of contracts span extra care, care home reprovisioning and both development and design and build contracts.
They include two extra care projects for Saxon Weald Housing Association, of 57 apartments at Leggyfield Court in Horsham, where residents will remain on site throughout, plus a 65-apartment scheme at Brighton Hill in Basingstoke.
Work has also begun for longstanding client, MHA, on a 45-apartment extra care scheme on the former site of a care home in Leeds. Castleoak has also started work on its turnkey sale development of a 70-bed care home in its first development for Quantum Care.
The latest project to start combines a 60-bed care home and 40 extra care apartments in Banbury. It is the care specialist’s tenth for the Oxfordshire Care Partnership, formed by bpha and The Orders of St John Care Trust to run the county’s reprovisioning programme.
“This news has been very welcome amidst the uncertainties of the general economic downturn,” said Mel Knight.
“Our predictions were always that the autumn would be a defining period for us and we are very pleased at the result.
“As to the wider picture, we are not reading too much into this. Confidence has certainly been more in evidence than this time last year, but with public sector finances in very poor shape and a general election looming, there are still enough uncertainties to ensure that we remain cautious about the future.
“One thing I can say for certain, however, is that the quality of the working relationship we enjoy with our customers has never been more important. We believe we have responded to changed conditions with competitive pricing and strong service, but we have been most appreciative of the loyalty shown to us too.”