Mears sells off Scottish care business
The Mears Group has announced it has sold its Scottish domiciliary care business to Cera Care.
The group said the decision was part of a long-term strategy to re-focus its business around housing instead.
‘In January 2020, prior to the Covid-19 crisis, we made the difficult decision to sell our domiciliary care business in Scotland in order to focus on housing related services, including supported living provision, which enables people with disabilities to live independent lives,’ said Mears’ chief executive, David Miles.
‘Mears has repeatedly warned that until the government commits to a sustainable funding model for the care sector then providers will not be able to deliver on the basis of continued driving down of cost at the expense of good service user care,’ he added.
‘We chose to halt the sale of the business during the pandemic to ensure that there was no unnecessary upheaval to service users at such a difficult time, but we now feel the time is right to proceed. Mears is committed to ensuring that the sale will be as smooth as possible for our colleagues and our service users.
‘The sale is now nearing completion following months of consultation, including with trade union representatives, to ensure minimal disruption to customers, staff and those in receipt of our services,’ said Mr Miles.
In August Cera also bought Gemcare South West.
It was co-founded by Dr Ben Maruthappu in 2016 and has become well known for its sector-leading use of technology. Cera was awarded Outstanding Home Care Provider at the National Home Care Awards.
Photo Credit -Mears Group
