A team from the Bath office of regional law firm Royds Withy King has advised the shareholders of a major care home group on the sale of a portfolio of properties to an overseas buyer.
The lawyers acted for Uxbridge-based Gold Care Holdings on the complex £90m deal, which transferred ownership of 18 of its 21 homes. 
The transaction included a pre-sale reorganisation and property sale and leaseback of the homes located mainly in Southern England and Birmingham.
Gold Care Homes was set up in 1999 and grew to operate 21 homes through development, mergers and acquisitions.
Paul Daniels, pictured, a real estate partner at Royds Withy King in Bath, which has a dedicated social care sector team, said: “We worked closely with Gold Care Homes and their tax advisers to structure the deal and provide comprehensive pre-sale support, which included corporate and property advice.
“An important part of our work was advising the owners of Gold Care Homes on various regulation and compliance issues in relation to registering four new operating companies to run and administer the care homes.”
Royds Withy King partner Hazel Phillips, who led the corporate aspects of the deal from Bath, said: “This was a complex transaction and we were delighted to be able to achieve the result Gold Care Homes was looking for, working closely with all parties and covering all the legal aspects, including the rigorous CQC (Care Quality Commission) requirements, to get it over the line.”
Global real estate adviser CBRE advised Gold Care Homes on the property sale and leaseback.
CBRE senior surveyor Peter Farnes said: “This latest transaction shows the continued appetite from international investors for UK healthcare assets and the elderly care market. This underscores the growing investor demand to grow and develop regional care businesses and benefit from index linked returns.
“The transaction provides Gold Care Homes with a secured source of capital for future developments and acquisitions.”
The buyer was advised by Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro.
