West Sussex care home sold to expanding local operator through Christie & Co
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has completed on the sale of Cornelius House, a well-established and highly regarded care home near Chichester, West Sussex. The sale was funded through Christie Finance.
Cornelius House is a large detached property registered as a care home for 20 service users in the category of Old Age. The property comprises 20 single bedrooms, all of which have en suite facilities, spread out over three floors. Most of the garden is at the front of the property and faces south, and there is a large, paved terrace with access from the main lounge and a summerhouse for the residents and their families.
The business has been operated by Mr John Kellas since he purchased it through Christie & Co in 2005, during which time the property has been upgraded and refurbished. The home was placed on the market after Mr Kellas took the decision to retire from the sector.
Mr Kellas comments, “When we were looking to purchase a care home, Cornelius House stuck out from the others because of its homely and friendly feeling and the caring nature of the staff, these factors remain today. Christie & Co has managed to achieve a confidential sale for us during this difficult time and we are pleased to be passing the business over to an experienced operator.”
Cornelius House has been sold to local care home operator, Mr James Twocock, who comments, “Cornelius House is an ideal purchase for us and will be our second care home, our first home being Greensleeves Care Home in Crawley. We are a family business and are looking forward to working and getting to know the staff, residents, and their families. We hope to build on and continue the good name of Cornelius House.”
Charles Phillips, director at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, adds, “Having assisted John with the purchase of Cornelius House in 2005, we were delighted to be asked to market the home for him when he took the decision to retire. This is a lovely home, and we are confident that the new owners will do very well with the business. It has been good working with both the vendor and purchaser during the last few months and with Chris Field of Christie Finance who sourced funding for the buyer. This deal shows that, even with the problems caused by Covid-19, sales of care homes are still being done.”
Chris Field, director at Christie Finance who secured the funds for the deal, comments, “It was a pleasure to assist the Twocock family in expanding their Care Home portfolio. Cornelius House is located in a lovely part of Chichester and has a number of similarities to their existing Care Home, making this a perfect fit. The funding process was slow and laborious, with a number of delays and challenges to overcome. To their credit, each hurdle was overcome as we worked as a team, along with the bank who were very supportive. We’d like to wish them all the best with the new venture and look forward to hearing from them when they find another opportunity.”
Cornelius House was sold at an undisclosed price.
