An invitation to The Belfry from the Caring Times Owners Club
Spectrum and the Caring Times Owners Club are pleased to invite care owners and directors to join us at an exclusive conference, at the luxurious Belfry Hotel on 31st October.
Background to the Caring Times Owners Club
We at Caring Times are delighted to have partnered with Spectrum on the Caring Times Owners Club, which launched in June and has since grown to a 160-strong community.
Our members are all owners and directors at care providers, vetted against Companies House, and they include elderly residential and nursing care, specialist care, and domiciliary care. The Club is free to join, and our members are keen to network with peers and discuss the biggest challenges facing care providers.
We’re particularly excited about our upcoming Owners Club conference, at The Belfry (Sutton Coldfield) on 31st October, when we will welcome 40 of our members to exclusive workshops and panels along with match-made networking meetings with their chosen suppliers.
Our guests will also enjoy hospitality including a drinks reception, sit-down dinner, and overnight stay – all of which offer opportunities to get to know your peers and discuss issues in a Chatham House Rules environment.
There are a limited number of places left, so join the Club (if you haven’t already!), then sign up for the event to secure your spot.
What topics are we covering?
We developed the agenda for the day by interviewing around 30 of our members and noting down the topics they were most interested in and concerned about.
Our keynote will set the stage for the day as Anthony Ball (KPMG) gives us a run-down of occupancy levels, fees, staffing, M&A, and market stability.
Care owners also raised the topics of building and development, and the difficulty of accessing finance to expand in this way due to the current lending landscape. In our first panel of the day, three experienced healthcare lenders will share their take on the risk and investment appetites in the market, and the criteria they look for when assessing applications for debt.
Meanwhile, it will come as no surprise that our members requested support with negotiating fee uplifts with commissioners, including Local Authorities (LAs) and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). The costs of providing care have risen sharply due to inflation and minimum/living wage increases, and many commissioners are still not paying the fair cost of care. In our second panel, experts in pricing and negotiating will share their advice for dealing with your local commissioners.
Finally, CQC and its incoming Single Assessment Framework is a perennial topic, and owners remain keen to hear about the implications for their business, and how to minimise risk. Charlie Jones from the respected advisors BKR Care Consultancy will share her knowledge on how to prepare.
After a busy day, guests will enjoy some free time before a drink’s reception, sit-down dinner and a night in the hotel bar, before an overnight stay in The Belfry’s beautiful rooms.
Sign up for the event to secure your spot.
Owners Club Midlands Conference: Schedule
31st October
• 9.00 – 9.20 Keynote – An update on the care home landscape
o Anthony Ball, KPMG
• 9.30 – 11.25 Meetings and coffee breaks
• 11.25 – 12.15 Panel – Raising debt for development
o Tony Throp, Puma Property Finance
o Dasos Kirtsides, Shawbrook Bank
o Mike Tierney, OakNorth
• 12.15 – 13.15 Networking Lunch
• 13.20 – 14.10 Panel – How to negotiate better with LAs and ICBs
o Mei-Ling Huang, RWK Goodman
o Samir Patel, Hampshire Care Association
o Mike Gorham, CIL Management Associates
• 14.20 – 16.10 Meetings and coffee breaks
• 16.15 – 17.00 Workshop – Preparing for the CQC Single Assessment Framework
o Charlie Jones, BKR Care Consultancy
• 19.00 onwards – Drinks reception, networking dinner and bar
1st November
• Breakfast and depart
Sign up for the event to secure your spot.
