Unity Trust Bank has reported a 74% growth in lending support for the care home sector, providing over 1,600 bed spaces to organisations across the UK.
The bank’s annual results show 34 care homes received a share of £60.3 million in 2025 (2024: £34.6 million) with 47.3% of lending going to high deprivation areas.
Nearly half, 49%, was classified as ‘C – Contribute to Solutions’ within Unity’s classifications for organisations that deliver dedicated services to vulnerable or marginalised communities.
63% of bed spaces supported in 2025 are occupied through local authority funding or concessionary rates to improve access of service.
Family-owned Bellerose Care Ltd acquires care homes in distress and turns them into viable businesses.
Owners Willie, Sam and Caroline McDonald, bought Bankhouse Care Home in Lesmahagow thanks to a £2.5m refinance package from Unity Trust Bank.
Willie, a former nurse, was introduced to Unity after looking for a new banking partner.
He said: “As soon as I spoke to our relationship manager, Michelle Wilson, I knew we wanted to be with Unity.
“Unity’s ethos and philosophy of being in business for the greater good is the equivalent to what we do in the care industry and it felt like the perfect match.
“Michelle has been absolutely fantastic. She’s been so supportive and you can tell she’s genuinely passionate about what she’s doing and what we’re doing.
“When you work with people you trust and you share the same values and vision, it’s such a pleasure.
“Every single interface we’ve had with Unity has been exceptional. Unity feels like family.”
Unity’s overall support of frontline healthcare providers in 2025 includes:
- Over £20 million in loans deployed in the pharmacy sector, supporting the provision of more than three million prescriptions.
- 73.4% of lending helped pharmacy customers expand their operations
- Financing for dental practices grew to £17.2 million in 2025 (2024: £2.6 million). A total of 87.6% of this was classified as ‘B – Benefit Stakeholders’ within Unity’s classifications.
- 47.8% of lending in the dentistry sector went to high deprivation areas. 35.4% of treatments/services offered by our customers are funded through NHS payments or local authorities.
- Furthermore, 60% of Unity’s lending in 2025 helped dentistry customers to grow their business.
Colin Fyfe, CEO at Unity, said: “Unity Trust Bank is committed to supporting organisations that make a positive difference to people’s lives and contribute to a better society for all.
“Communities across the UK rely on the services of frontline healthcare providers like care homes, dentists and pharmacies and we’re committed to supporting these sectors.
“Unity’s ‘double bottom line’ strategy is to deliver positive social impact as well as sustainable returns. I’m proud to say that we deliver this year after year.”
In 2025 Unity’s overall lending grew by 12% to over £1.1 billion (2024: 1 billion).
New lending more than doubled to over £333 million (2024: £137 million).
A record £165 million of new lending (53.7%) went to customers delivering services in areas of high deprivation.
Customer balances rose by 8% to a record £1.9 billion (2024: £1.8 billion), as more organisations seek assurance that their savings will only be used for good.
Unity also achieved a number of milestones in 2025.
- Unity was awarded an Investment Grade credit rating from Fitch Ratings. This landmark accreditation strengthens its position as a robust business bank.
- Unity became one of a small number of banks globally to be independently verified by the Good Economy as meeting the Global Impact Investing Network’s ‘Operating Principles for Impact Management’ standards. This underscores the bank’s drive for positive change and is a benchmark for quality impact management.
- Unity became the first UK bank to invest in Local Climate Bonds, supporting local councils to deliver on their Net Zero objectives. It committed an initial £15m towards councils’ environmental projects with more to come in 2026.
The bank’s values are also embedded in its culture.
A record £140,500 in grants and donations was distributed to good causes throughout the year from staff salary sacrifice and fundraising endeavours alongside the bank’s match-funding. This included £50,000 for the Unity Impact Grants programme and £35,000 support for the King’s Trust partnership.
Colin Fyfe added: “At the core of everything we do at Unity is our customers. They are at the fore of every decision we make.
“Our ambition is to be the bank of choice for all socially-minded organisations in the UK and I’m delighted that more than 11,300 values-aligned customers choose our business banking services.”
*This is an adaptation made by Unity Trust Bank based on the ABCs of Enterprise Impact: ABC of Enterprise Impact | Impact Frontiers – https://impactfrontiers.org/norms/abc-of-enterprise-impact
Unity Relationship Manager Michelle Wilson with Willie and Sam McDonald, owners of Bankhouse Care Home