The pros and cons of private equity ownership in social care
Keith is a qualified accountant with 15 years experience working at Bupa, one of the largest care home providers in the UK. He worked as General Manager and Finance Director for Bupa’s Healthcare Professional business before moving to Bupa’s care home unit as Development Manager where he led M&A and policy. Keith then moved to Finance Director of Bupa Care Services where he led a $1.2bn AUD acquisition and integration of Australian and New Zealand elderly care assets and was a strategic lead for over 300 care homes in the UK. Keith has vast experience engaging with the Government, Department of Health and various policymakers to discuss and implement regulatory frameworks for UK social care.
It goes back to what the future adult care model should look like and what all parties should play as part of that, in terms of social responsibility. Clearly, any private investor that’s investing in any business does so for a reason: because they want to make a return from that. We all do—when we put money into a bank account, into our savings account- we want a return from that. Why would somebody not expect a return when they are risking a substantial amount of money in purchasing a business?
I think that there is a space within social care for investors, and in particular private equity, because it drives innovation. It does drive efficiency. I’ve seen examples where it has driven investment in technology that has supported the sector as a whole, and I don’t think that would’ve happened if the whole sector was funded by the public sector. An example at the minute would be the use of robotics in the dispensing of medicines. There are lots of examples around where businesses are just testing other ways of actually making the process of dispensing medicines more efficient and safer as well. I’m not sure that level of innovation would have come through in a completely shared environment.
There is a role for the private sector. Naturally, when operating within such a sensitive sector such as care, failures within the private sector do attract headlines. It’s just a question of the government really setting the right environment, working with a regulator that is there to ensure that an appropriate level of care is given throughout the market. I think that so long as the rules are set, then there is definitely a big role to play for the private sector going forward.
Keith is a qualified accountant with 15 years experience working at Bupa, one of the largest care home providers in the UK. He worked as General Manager and Finance Director for Bupa’s Healthcare Professional business before moving to Bupa’s care home unit as Development Manager where he led M&A and policy. Keith then moved to Finance Director of Bupa Care Services where he led a $1.2bn AUD acquisition and integration of Australian and New Zealand elderly care assets and was a strategic lead for over 300 care homes in the UK. Keith has vast experience engaging with the Government, Department of Health and various policymakers to discuss and implement regulatory frameworks for UK social care.
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