Finance for Care Providers

Home care businesses for sale are often marketed through specialist agents, and some are sold privately to another provider or to the registered manager. When you look at a home care business for sale, ask for the contracts and the mix of local authority, NHS and private clients, care hours delivered over recent years, staff numbers and turnover, the registered manager’s plans, aged debtors and the latest inspection report.

In England, CQC’s guidance on buying, selling or transferring a registered business says the seller must cancel their provider registration on a full sale, or apply to change it on a partial sale. A buyer that is not registered applies to register, and one that is already registered adds the location to its registration. Both should apply around the same time so CQC can assess the applications together, CQC can provide a position statement letter on request, and the incoming provider must make sure managers are in post and registered at the location. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regulators.

Payroll starts on day one, so plan working capital alongside the purchase. Practice acquisition finance explains how a purchase is structured, and our guide to buying a professional practice covers every cost you need to fund.

Yes. A care provider pays carers weekly or monthly, while councils and NHS commissioners pay in arrears, after the care has been delivered, the hours checked and the invoice approved, so a new package or block contract widens the gap before it adds any income. Invoice finance against commissioner invoices releases a share of each invoice as soon as it is raised, and a working capital facility or revolving credit can carry payroll through the first months of a contract while the payment cycle settles down. Lenders look at the mix of council, NHS and private clients, the aged debtors, how long each commissioner takes to pay in practice, the CQC rating and staff turnover. Professional Practice Loans, a specialist whole of market broker, arranges working capital and receivables funding for domiciliary care, supported living and other care providers, sized to the payroll rather than to a round number.

• Payment terms. Public contracts a council in England awards under the Procurement Act 2023, in force since 24 February 2025, carry an implied term that a valid invoice the council does not dispute is paid within 30 days, and contracts awarded under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 carried a similar 30 day term.
• Disputed invoices. The 30 day term does not run on an invoice the council disputes, so accurate call monitoring data and clean invoicing protect the cash as much as the contract does.
• April pay rises. The National Living Wage rose to £12.71 an hour from April 2026, on top of employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 since April 2025, and the payroll rises before any council fee uplift is agreed.
• Private clients. Self funders and people using direct payments pay the provider themselves, often in advance, and lenders value that income differently from commissioner invoices.

The Procurement Act 2023 sets out the implied payment terms in public contracts. See aged debt and lock up finance for borrowing against commissioner invoices, practice working capital for funding payroll, or get instant quotes before the next contract starts.

Yes. Supported living separates the housing from the care, so the care business usually does not buy the property and its funding need is for the months between recruiting a team and the first commissioned hours being paid. A working capital loan or facility can carry the registered manager, senior staff and training before the first tenants move in, asset finance can cover vehicles, care planning systems and electronic call monitoring, and invoice finance can follow once commissioner invoices are being raised. Lenders look at the provider's experience, the CQC registration, letters of support or framework places from the council, the housing partner and the referral pipeline, and they fund a service with commissioned packages agreed far more readily than one waiting for referrals. Professional Practice Loans, a specialist whole of market broker, arranges start up and growth funding for supported living providers.

• Registration first. Personal care cannot be provided until CQC has registered the provider and the manager, so the timetable for registration drives when the funding is needed.
• Housing partner. The landlord, often a registered provider or a specialist housing company, holds the tenancies, and the lender reads the care contract and the housing agreement together.
• Voids and referrals. Empty rooms reduce care hours as well as rent, so a forecast with cautious occupancy is more convincing to a lender.
• Staffing. Recruiting and training staff ahead of the first tenants is the largest set up cost, which is why working capital matters more than property finance.

CQC explains when supported living needs registration for the regulated activity of personal care. See practice working capital for the set up months, recruitment finance for building the team, vehicle finance for pool cars, or get instant quotes for a new service.