JMW Solicitors’ Real Estate team has advised Grafton Land & Property on the acquisition and onward sale of a 1.9 acre site to Hallmark Care Homes in deal that will see the creation of a 51,000 sq ft centre of excellence for nursing and dementia expertise.
An established operator within the market, Hallmark Care Homes currently operates 19 care homes for elderly people across England and Wales. This latest land acquisition responds to local need and growing demand for high-quality, modern care home beds.
Located in Angmering, West Sussex, its new 62-bed nursing home will benefit from a high-quality suite of services including a cinema, hairdresser and therapy rooms.
Thomas Pearson, Real Estate Partner at JMW Solicitors, said: “We’re very pleased to have advised on Grafton’s latest site. There is acute demand for care home beds throughout the UK, so it’s gratifying to be able to play a role in supporting the delivery of new facilities like this – particularly those that address specialist needs such as dementia.
“To put the undersupply into perspective, there is currently a 69.7% under-provision of care home beds across England and Wales. Furthermore, specialist facilities are still being overlooked, even at a basic level – for instance, the UK average en-suite wet room provision is still only 25.1% of registered supply.”
Tony Cole, Managing Director of Grafton Land & Property, said: “The team at JMW have been central in getting this deal over the line, steering a complicated process involving several parties.”
He continued: “It is vitally important that the UK is making adequate provision for elderly care – in 2016 there were 1.6m people above 85 in the UK, but by 2041 that figure is forecast to reach 3.2m. We need to be building additional capacity to the tune of 10,000 beds per year in order to meet current and future need. Much of the existing stock requires replacement and refurbishment, so it’s always positive to see the likes of Hallmark Care Homes investing in the future with the creation of new facilities.”
Grafton Land & Property is a specialist development company which acquires land nationwide with the potential for care use, designing and securing planning approval for elderly care residential and nursing facilities.
JMW Solicitors benefits from significant experience within the healthcare sector – it has advised on new build care home projects creating in excess of 2,000 new beds, and residential care homes with a combined GDV of more than £100m.
