Southern Cross to sell a number of care homes

Southern Cross’s latest strategy to keep bankruptcy at bay is to release 180 care homes from its ownership.

About 30 homes will shut down, 100 may be taken over by rival care home operators and 50 Active Care homes - that Southern Cross privately said would benefit from new ownership - could also be purchased.

Jamie Buchan, Southern Cross chief executive, commented on the situation, “I think things will occur that are not ideal from our perspective but are sensible. If there are landlords who after carefully considering the proposals want to take control of their properties and have them operated by someone else, and that is something we are committed to facilitate.”

Local authorities have prepared rival operators to run the homes in case Southern Cross fails. Several councils have put BUPA on stand-by.

BUPA director Oliver Thomas said, “There is of course considerable uncertainty about the future of Southern Cross. We have been approached and we’re listening to what they have to say.”

Another strategy to be implemented is to cut staff numbers by 3,000 to 41,000 by October. It has emerged that if the rents had not been renegotiated last week to be cut by 30 per cent, Southern Cross would have ceased to trade.

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