Cheshire-based Muller Property Group is reporting increased activity in the new build care home market where it works to unlock sites for development. The company currently has over 2,800 care beds in the pipeline.
Since January this year it has secured four planning approvals representing 310 new care beds and has also completed seven new care home site acquisitions representing a further 507 new care beds.
The care home market was widely reported as stagnating during the post-Covid years, however, transaction volumes increased in 2024 with this trend continuing into the current year. Muller has continued its strategic focus on the care home market throughout this time.
With a rapidly ageing population and the NHS’s stated aim of more care being delivered in the community, experts are predicting a huge shortfall in availability of care home beds in the next ten years. Knight Frank predict that the sector will reach full capacity as early as 2033.
Commenting on the current situation in the market, managing director of Muller’s care division, Julie Doherty said: “We need a significant increase in quality care home beds to meet our ageing population’s needs.
“In the recent years we have seen a drop in registrations of new care homes which is concerning, due to the closure of older homes, we need to see more new care homes!
“Over the past 12 months we have seen an increased appetite from funders, developers and operators which is helping to drive growth in the market but there is clearly a way to go to meet the increasing demand.
“With positive signs on the investment front, more flexibility is required in the planning system to super-charge new registrations of homes that are designed and built to meet current needs and those of the next twenty years.”
The ageing population will mean that more people are living with multiple, complex conditions, including various forms of dementia. The care home of the future needs bedrooms with en-suite facilities and communal spaces.
Much of the existing stock, built in the 1960s and 70s lacks modern amenities. Commenting on this, Doherty said: “There is a real opportunity to help re-shape the future of care provision and we are working with care home operators, funders and investors and our development partners to deliver these much-needed modern facilities.”
