Four Seasons Health Care has defended itself against allegations of being financially unable to take on 135 Southern Cross homes.
The company has vowed to begin transferring a first wave of Southern Cross homes into its portfolio from tomorrow, despite opposition from the GMB union.
It said the GMB union was conducting “irresponsible scaremongering”, after it called for the Care Quality Commission to block transfers of homes until Four Seasons Healthcare was able to prove it has the financial stability to avoid being the “son of Southern Cross”.
A Four Seasons spokesman said: “We are in good financial health. Unlike Southern Cross, we are trading profitably, with EBITDA at circa £100m.”
The care homes firm completed a £1.5bn capital restructuring, with around £780m swapped for equity and maturity of the remaining debt extended to September 2012.
“Four Seasons Health Care is well able to manage this level of debt and is reviewing options for permanent resolution of the remaining debt,” the spokesman added.
The defence is in response to GMB national officer Sharon Holder, who said at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on 28 September: “The only apparent option for Four Seasons to pay back the £750m is to use public money meant to care for the elderly. This is totally unacceptable.”
A second batch of Southern Cross homes will move to Four Seasons at the end of October.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
