Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, reports a noticeable increase in appetite for closed care homes in the Midlands region. Tamara Gee, Associate Director - Healthcare at Christie & Co, comments, “A clear increase in appetite for closed, vacant care homes in the Midlands has sparked a rise in the number of offers received. Due to the current demand, in some instances, price-per-bed numbers are stronger than they were pre-pandemic which is positive for those looking to sell.” Recent deals, such as the sale of closed residential care home, Haversham House, in Stoke-on-Trent and closed former nursing home, Cloverfields, in Shropshire illustrate this demand. The former Haversham House property is a 1990s purpose-built, two-storey building with 55 bedrooms, 30 of which have en suite facilities. It is located within a residential area of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The property has been purchased by an existing local operator which plans to re-open the site as a nursing home. Previously registered with CQC as a nursing home for up to 34 residents, Cloverfields sits in a substantial converted and extended three-storey detached property in Whitchurch, Shropshire, surrounded by leafy agricultural land and situated on one of the main roads leading into the town centre. The site has been sold to Dr Nicholas and Mrs Gill Smith who, with many years of experience in drug and rehabilitation care behind them, plan to re-open the home as a specialist drug and rehabilitation home to cater for those in need. Tamara adds, “The primary attraction of these businesses is the opportunities they present and their flexibility of use, with many operators reconfiguring and reopening the former closed homes as specialist care, mental health, and drug and rehabilitation homes, etc.” Both Haversham House and Cloverfields sold for above asking price. (source: Christie & Co)