HELLO and welcome to the AM Business Briefing, as Asos has said it expects pressures from its supply chains to continue at least until February, and the company said its pre-tax profit will be a lot lower in the 2022 financial year than in its most recent year.
The online fashion retailer said chief executive Nick Beighton is stepping down from the role he has held for six years.
Still in the City, green energy supplier Good Energy has said it is safe from the worst effects of the spike in gas prices, but has put up prices for customers. Meanwhile ministers are facing calls to continue talks with industry in a bid to stop more firms going to the wall amid rising energy costs.
Also today, a family-run firm has secured £18.5m fudning for a new care home in Aberdeen, Brexit fuels cost woe but Scottish economy grows strongly, and in Business Voices Sandra Innes, client relationship director with TMP UK, focuses on how to make the best hires.
Care home operator secures £18.5m for new Scottish facility
OakNorth Bank has completed an £18.5 million loan to care homes operator Care Concern Group for a new facility in Scotland.
The Group will use the structured finance facility from OakNorth Bank to develop a new 81-bedroom care home in Aberdeen, with facilities including hair salons, cinema rooms and a library, emphasising the croup’s focus on delivering a high calibre of care.
Founded in 1991 by Balbir Johal, the Care Concern Group is a family-run business consisting of 78 care homes specialising in general nursing and dementia care across the UK.
The funding will also be used to facilitate a sale and leaseback agreement with a leading European fund.
Manpreet Johal, chief executive of Care Concern Group, said: “With the number of people suffering with dementia in Scotland set to increase to over c.164,000 by 2036, the demand for specialised care will continue rising and the need for care homes which can meet these individuals’ needs will become even more important.
"Our new site in Aberdeen will provide residents with the highest quality care from our expertly trained staff, making it another strong addition to our growing portfolio. Having now worked alongside Deepesh and his team on numerous transactions, we were once again hugely impressed with their knowledge of our business and the care home industry as a whole, making them the ideal funding partner.”
Deepesh Thakrar, senior director of debt finance at OakNorth Bank, said: “With an impressive average occupancy rate of 85% across its entire portfolio, Care Concern Group continues to be one of the most well-regarded and highly-performing care home operators in the UK.
Under Manpreet’s leadership, the group has won over 100 industry awards for its design and premium approach to care, just as we aim to do with lending.
“We’re delighted that Manpreet chose us once again as their funding partner and we look forward to working with them on more transactions in the future.”
Brexit fuels cost woe but Scottish economy grows strongly
Scotland achieved the third-fastest growth among the 12 nations and regions of the UK in September, even though its expansion eased to its slowest in five months as manufacturing went into reverse, a survey shows.
Bad hires are bad news, and also costly
Opinion: So you’ve accidentally hired the wrong person, or made a rushed hire due to business need. Does it matter in the long run?
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