Funding for residential, nursing and supported living operators: acquiring, refinancing, developing or converting.
What we arrange for care operators
- Commercial mortgages on trading care homes
- Acquisition funding for single homes and portfolios
- Development and conversion finance for new-build or change of use
- Refinancing to release equity or reduce cost
- Equipment and fit-out finance
Going concern or bricks and mortar
This is the distinction that determines almost everything about a care home deal. A lender valuing the home as a going concern is lending against the trading business: occupancy, fee rates, staffing costs and regulatory standing. A lender valuing it as bricks and mortar is lending against the building alone, and will advance considerably less.
Which basis applies depends on the home’s trading history, its CQC or equivalent rating, and the lender’s own policy. Understanding which basis your deal will be assessed on before you agree a price is essential, because getting it wrong changes the deposit you need by a wide margin.
What lenders will actually do
This is the best-served part of the healthcare lending market, and the numbers are reasonably transparent.
- Owner-occupied elderly care, experienced operators: loans from around £150,000, up to 75% loan-to-value on market value, terms to 25 years, for acquisition or refinance.
- Development and conversion: preferred loan sizes around £1m to £10m, up to 72.5% of gross development value including rolled-up interest, terms to three years, with rates from around 8.35%.
- Larger and portfolio transactions: up to around £35m from specialist healthcare desks, either secured or on a cashflow basis.
- Supported and assisted living let to a care provider: around 64% loan-to-value on long interest-only terms, a distinct niche with fewer funders.
- Cash flow against local authority billing: invoice discounting at 85% of ledger value, flexing to 90% at peak, with facilities structured to allow drawdown ahead of final invoicing to the authority.
Regulatory rating drives terms
Your inspection rating is not a background detail in a care home application. It is central. A home rated below good will find the lending market narrows sharply, and the terms available reflect that. Where a rating has recently improved, evidencing the turnaround properly is often the difference between a decline and an approval.
Regulators differ by nation: the Care Quality Commission in England, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, Care Inspectorate Wales, and the RQIA in Northern Ireland. Lenders read each differently.
Common questions
How much deposit is needed to buy a care home?
Materially more than for a clinical practice purchase, and the figure depends heavily on whether the home is valued as a going concern or on bricks and mortar. First-time operators should expect to contribute more than established groups.
Can a first-time operator get funding?
It is harder but not impossible. Lenders will want to see relevant management experience, a credible operational plan and a strong management team. Registered manager arrangements will be scrutinised.
Can you fund a conversion to a care home?
Yes, through development finance, with the exit typically being a term mortgage once the home is trading and registered. The regulatory timeline needs building into the funding structure from the start.
All figures are indicative and subject to lender assessment, your circumstances, valuation and prevailing market conditions. Commercial mortgages and unregulated bridging loans are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Property offered as security may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments.
This page was last reviewed in September 2026 and is next scheduled for review in March 2027. Lending criteria change frequently, so contact us for current terms rather than relying on published figures.