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< Back < Back < More about Care UK < More about Care UK

Our History

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We’ve been leading the way in social care for decades. Here are some highlights from our story so far.

2023

  • Care UK was awarded 24 accolades in national, regional and local awards throughout the year, including ‘Residential Provider of the Year’ at the Health Investor awards for the second year in a row .
  • Priors House and Halecroft Grange were awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the CQC bringing our total number of Outstanding rated homes to 17. A further 29 homes were also rated ‘Good’  by the CQC in 2023.

  • In 2023 three brand new homes opened their doors: Oxbow Manor in Shewsbury, Llys Herbert in Cardiff and Cuttlebrook Hall in Thame. Salisbury Manor also reopened its doors over the summer following a £1.7m renovation.

  • In May Care UK won the ‘Best Employee Engagement’ award at the prestigious UK Employee Experience Awards. The awards recognise the best employers in the UK to help raise the bar of global employers’ standards and the judges were impressed with Care UK’s four key areas of focus for employee engagement including an improvement to training and career development.

  • In October we were delighted to win five awards at the Care Home Awards, including ‘Best Care Home Marketing, Advertising or PR Activities’ for our ’40 days of giving back’ campaign, celebrating Care UK’s 40th birthday last summer.

  • In November we were thrilled to be recognised at the Nursing Times by winning the ‘Nursing in Social Care’ award for Care UK’s ‘Hear Well’ project. This nurse-led project aims to improve the lives of residents by establishing simple and effective treatments without the need to visit a clinic.

  • In December we launched our brand new careers site to make it even easier to join our passionate and caring teams.

  • Our wishing trees initiative reached new heights this year when 85-year-old resident Sally from Deewater Grange completed the world’s fastest zipline. Other wishes we have made come true over the year include helping resident Helen get her first tattoo and reuniting resident Patricia with the classic car she owned for over 30 years.

  • Across our care homes and our Colchester Support Centre we have trained 154 mental health first aiders, who are there to support the team.

2022

  • We started our year by completing the rebranding of former Sunrise and Gracewell homes to Care UK.
  • In the summer we celebrated Care UK’s 40th birthday. As part of the milestone celebrations, we launched our ’40 days of giving back’ campaign and challenged ourselves to raise £40,000 for local charities across the UK. Colleagues and residents surpassed themselves with their efforts, exceeding our fundraising target and – most importantly – having fun in the process.
  • Our first UK-wide TV advert was launched in the autumn.
  • Care UK was awarded 23 accolades in national awards throughout the year, including ‘Residential Provider of the Year’ at the Health Investor awards.
  • In October we were delighted to win ‘Best Large Care Home Group’ at the Care Home Awards for the third year running.
  • We were also thrilled to be recognised at the National Dementia Care Awards as Suzanne Mumford, Head of Nursing, Care and Dementia at Care UK, took home ‘Best Dementia Care Inspiring Leader’ at the ceremony in October.
  • When it comes to granting residents wishes, as part of our wishing tree initiative, the sky is the limit. The team at Dashwood Manor proved this in July when 89-year-old Dennis Moulton achieved his lifelong dream to skydive, jumping 15,000 feet out of a plane. Dennis raised over £4,000 for Marie Curie with his high-flying efforts. 

2021

  • Five new care homes open their doors including Ancasta Grove in Sarisbury Green, Heathlands House in Cambridge, Dashwood Manor in Basingstoke, Martlet Manor in Haywards Heath and Chichester Grange.
  • In July 2021 we announced that we will be taking over the leadership and management of 26 homes from Sunrise Senior Living UK and Gracewell Healthcare’s homes in the UK. Seven Sunrise and 19 Gracewell homes will be added to the Care UK portfolio at the end of the year.
  • We are delighted to win ‘Best Large Care Home Group’ at the Care Home Awards in October for the second year running.
  • When the Covid-19 vaccine became available in January we strongly encouraged all team members to get the vaccine. We were one of the first care providers to implement a new recruitment policy to ensure all new joiners are vaccinated before they start work – an approach which has been welcomed by those who are keen to build a career with us.

2020

  • When coronavirus hit the UK we responded by increasing the already stringent cleaning protocols in the home, ensuring there was a good supply of PPE for all our homes and investing in safety technology including fogging machines and air purifiers. Our number one priority continues to be the safety and wellbeing of everyone living and working in our care homes.
  • As lockdown restrictions prevented visits from loved ones, our home teams went above and beyond to ensure residents stayed connected to friends and family. They supported in video calls, social distanced garden visits and we even built specially designed Covid-safe visiting suites in every home to ensure safe face to face visits could take place, even if a home was in outbreak.
  • We enjoy lots of award success as we win ‘Best Large Care Home Group’ at the Care Home Awards and win bronze in the ‘Employee Training and Development’ category at the UK Employee Experience Awards for the second year in a row. Care UK is the most awarded large care home provider.
  • Davers Court achieves an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the CQC.

2019

2018

  • We open six homes this year, including Mercia Grange in Sutton Coldfield, Pear Tree Court in Horndean, Chandler Court in Bromsgrove and Murrayside in Edinburgh.        
  • In August, six Care UK colleagues feature in Care Home Professional magazine’s top 50 Leaders in Care.
  • Perry Manor, Cleves Place, Manor Lodge and Mildenhall Lodge achieve ‘Outstanding’ ratings from the CQC.
  • Recognising the importance of diversity and equality among our residents and colleagues, Care UK supports London Pride.
  • Whitby Dene, our care home in Eastcote, Middlesex, makes a host of residents’ dreams come true, including supporting one resident to meet the Pope.

2017

  • Six brand new Care UK homes open this year: Lauder Lodge in Edinburgh, Buchanan Court in Harrow, Snowdrop House in Ware, Ferndown Manor in Dorset, Weald Heights in Sevenoaks, and Highmarket House in Banbury.
  • Care UK also acquires two existing homes: Knebworth care home and Queen’s Court in Windsor.
  • We celebrate five years of delivering quality care with Suffolk County Council. The partnership also wins Best Public/Private Partnership in the year’s Health Investor awards.
  • In July we announce our selection of the Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester as our new partner to help us remain at the cutting edge of dementia care delivery.
  • We are delighted to win the LaingBuisson Award for Residential Care Provider (larger organisation).
  • We launch the latest of our popular guides. ‘A Helping Hand’ is designed to help family carers through the journey of care. It is launched by TV presenter, Ruth Langsford.
  • Prime Minister, Theresa May, visits Care UK’s Clara Court care home, in her Maidenhead constituency, to celebrate resident Irene Thompson’s 109th birthday.
  • Care UK presents a £10,000 donation to the Care Worker’s Charity, which supports current, former and retired care workers who experience financial hardship.

2016

  • In the spring we officially open the doors of our latest home, Sherwood Grange in Kingston Vale, south London.
  • Our chefs, residents and their families lend their knowledge and experience to help us create a brand new guide, Eating as we age. Designed to help those caring for older loved ones at home, the guide offers helpful tips and advice on maintaining wellbeing through nutrition and hydration.
  • In May we officially open Glastonbury Court, the tenth and final home in our £60m Suffolk investment programme.
  • We set a new Care UK record in the summer, with 106 of our care homes taking part in National Care Home Open Day. This annual event showcases the superb quality of life that older people enjoy in care homes, and helps to forge lasting ties between care homes and their local communities.
  • Key appointments to our executive team this year are Rachel Gilbert, care, quality and governance director, and Jacqui White, marketing director, Geoff Edwards, operations director, north and Chris Hopkinson, operations director, south. All move from senior level roles within Care UK.

2015

  • We get the year off to a fun start as residents from many of our care homes take part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. We provide homes with bird feeders, seed and guides to help residents create bird-friendly habitats and identify the visitors to their gardens. The project is a great source of enjoyable activities for residents with different levels of ability, including those living with dementia.
  • We mark two new home openings this year: Abney Court in the grounds of historic Abney Hall in Cheadle, Cheshire; and Cavell Court on the outskirts of Norwich. Cavell Court is named in honour of Edith Cavell, the locally born nurse celebrated for saving the lives of hundreds of soldiers in the First World War. This year marks the centenary of her death.
  • We publish our third guide to support people caring for loved ones living with dementia. Called Good to go, the guide is launched by broadcaster Angela Rippon and highlights the emotional and physical benefits of keeping active and getting out and about for people living with dementia.
  • Continuing to consolidate the high quality talent on our management team, we appoint Leah Queripel as human resources director.

2014

  • In the first half of the year we make key appointments to our management team: Andrew Knight joins us in February as managing director, while Matt Rosenberg joins us in May as finance and commercial director. With Andrew’s background in successful consumer-facing organisations, we’re in the best position to lead the way in delivering the next generation of care homes.
  • The year is a busy one, with the opening of four of the Suffolk care homes we’re building as part of our £60 million investment plan and partnership with Suffolk County Council. We also open luxury homes across the country: Field Lodge in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, Scarlet House in Stroud, Priors House in Leamington Spa and Mountfitchet House in Essex.

2013

  • Over the summer, we publish a new guide to activity based care As Easy as ABC, to help families caring for a loved one living with dementia. We also mark the official openings of Bowes House care home in Hailsham and Foxbridge House in Orpington.
  • In November Dr Nori Graham, Vice President and former Chair of the National Alzheimer’s Society of England and Alzheimer’s Disease International becomes a non-executive director.

2012

  • Our new care homes programme continues in September with the opening of a brand new, purpose-built home at Mill View in East Grinstead.
  • In October we learn that we have been selected by Suffolk County Council to be its partner to fulfil its long term vision for older people’s care in the county. The £60 million project will see Care UK building ten new care homes and wellbeing centres over the next two years to meet the growing demand for specialist care for frail older people in the county, including those living with dementia.

2011

  • It’s in this year that our expansion plans really start to take off. Heather View, the first of our new care homes, opens in Crowborough, East Sussex during the summer. Over the next four years we plan to build some 30 new purpose-built, luxury care homes which are designed to meet the growing demand for innovative, modern care services for older people, particularly those living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
  • The dedication of Care UK’s staff in residential homes across the country is acknowledged at the 2011 National Dementia Care Awards. Nominated in five of the 12 categories, we come away with three awards that recognise outstanding service in caring for people with dementia.
  • Late in the year we complete the transfer of 25 care homes formerly operated by Southern Cross Healthcare Group Plc.
  • 2009 - We open Manor Lodge in Chelmsford, Essex; our first care home designed and built mainly for residents who are not eligible for council funded places.

  • 2003 - We partner with Hammersmith and Fulham to develop two new nursing homes and one sheltered housing scheme.

  •  2002 - Surrey County Council appoints us as manager of seven residential homes.

  •  2001 - We sign a long term deal to redevelop three Council-operated care homes in Richmond upon Thames.

  •  2000 - This year sees us sign a twelve-year contract with the London Borough of Hillingdon, covering four homes.

  •  1999 - Kincardine Community Hospital is opened by HM the Queen. We operate the care home on site, Mowat Court, which has places for 46 people and provide facilities management services to Grampian Health Board who operate the hospital.

  •  1998 - We are selected to redevelop Delaware Resource Centre in Paddington for Westminster City Council. The new care home opens in 1999 as Forrester Court.

  •  1997 - We are appointed for the development of Kincardine Community Hospital in Stonehaven near Aberdeen. Richard Pearman joins the Business Development team and continues, to this day, to lead the development of new homes at Care UK.

  •  1994 - In March we change our name from Anglia Secure Homes to Care UK Plc.

  •  1988 - We start the year by gaining a full listing on the London Stock Exchange. August sees us open our first care home at Little Holland Hall.

  •  1986 - Haven Management Services Limited becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Anglia Secure Homes plc, and we join the Unlisted Securities Market in July (at this point we were too small to qualify for a full listing on the London Stock Exchange).

  • 1982 - We begin life in Essex as Anglia Secure Homes, a specialist provider of retirement homes and sheltered housing.