Country Living Care Group, a family-run care home business based in Sussex, has purchased a second property after securing finance with a leading business bank.
Country Living has been running Country Lodge Nursing Home in Worthing since 2019 and prides itself on the quality of care provided in beautiful surroundings. Carehome.co.uk gives Country Lodge 9.9 out of 10 and the home gets glowing reviews from residents’ family and friends.
Owned and run by husband-and-wife team Will and Deborah Andrews, Country Lodge has a strong focus on the quality of residents’ care experience that draws upon Will’s former career as an NHS doctor and Deborah’s many years of experience in creating beautiful, caring homes in lovely settings.
Building upon the success and level of care achieved at Country Lodge, Will and Deborah set their eyes recently on a second care home in East Sussex, Alfriston Court. Alfriston Court is a landmark property, with an excellent staff team. It was struggling due to lack of management attention, but Will and Deborah saw the potential to turn the home around with the same model of love and care that has been applied to Country Lodge.
After being let down at the eleventh hour by their bank however, Will and Deborah were left unsure where to turn. Then the couple met Tom Easton at Allica Bank, a challenger business bank dedicated especially to supporting established businesses.
Allica Bank prides itself on assessing each business individually and, while the complexity of financing Country Living’s expansion put other banks off, the team at Allica were able to find a way to fund Will and Deborah’s plans.
With work now underway to bring Alfriston Court into the Country Living family and offer residents there the same level of care as are enjoyed at Country Lodge, Will and Deborah are looking forward to the future of their business.
Commenting, Dr Will Andrews, owner of Country Living Care Group, said:
“We know what it takes to build up a care home that stands out both for the quality of care given and the beauty of the surroundings. The peace of mind this brings to residents and their families is enormous and we were keen to offer this same standard to residents at Alfriston Court. Being let down at the last minute by our previous bank left us feeling disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to do this.
“Working with Tom and the team at Allica Bank has been a breath of fresh air. They have a common-sense, human approach. They took the time to understand our business and our plans for growth, and found us the finance we needed. Now we can grow Country Living Care Group and offer more residents a care home that is centered on their needs.
“We are looking forward to becoming part of the Alfriston community and are very grateful for the warm welcome we’ve had so far!”
Tom Easton, Relationship Manager at Allica Bank said:
“Businesses like Country Living are under-served by the high street banks and, as was the case here, often left unable to access finance and grow. At Allica Bank we assess each business – no matter how complex – on its individual merits and I was pleased to find a way to make this work.
“Country Living provides a vital service to residents and their families and has demonstrated that their model works. We were therefore proud to help Country Living purchase a second property. It was a pleasure working with Deborah and Will and I look forward to continuing to support their business.”