Another Successful Year for HPC

An eventful year in the care sector draws to a close and HPC continues to thrive.

As the end of 2017 draws near, we can reflect on what has been another exciting year for HPC and an eventful year for the care sector in general.

As we approach the ninth anniversary of our incorporation on Christmas Eve, I am delighted to say that HPC has had one of its busiest ever years. We continue to serve a broadening client base of private, non-profit and corporate clients across the UK. We have continued to improve our services, with the recent launch of the improved and updated version of the HPC Location Report. This is used by developers, operators and investors to support new development in the care sector across the country.

I am also delighted to say that we have welcomed Sophie Bagley to the HPC team, as a Consultant Chartered Surveyor to assist in our increasing workload.

More generally, the sector continues to face some interesting challenges. We all continue to watch Four Seasons Health Care closely, to see how the unfolding debt situation in that organisation will be resolved. We have also recently seen the publication of the CMA care homes market study, which states very clearly what many of us have known for years – that local authorities are paying insufficient fees to care home operators and these are effectively being subsidised by private-pay residents. We hope that the government will pay heed to the CMA’s observations and that the Green Paper, due to be published in 2018, will contain some real substance.

In spite of the headwinds facing the sector, the positive news is that we continue to see new investment being attracted from both home and abroad. We are also seeing some fascinating developments in both operational style and architectural design, and these innovations could lay the foundations for the shape of the care sector in the UK for many years to come.

No doubt 2018 will be another exciting, innovative and challenging year and we look forward to working with all our clients in the coming months. In the meantime, from all at HPC, we wish you a happy Christmas and offer very best wishes for 2018.

Ian Wilkie
Director