Southern Cross landlords miss deadline

17 August 2011

GMB TOLD THAT SOUTHERN CROSS LANDLORDS HAVE MISSED AUGUST 1ST DEADLINE TO APPOINT NEW OPERATORS FOR ALL 750 CARE HOMES

Quite why the landlords as the owners of the buildings should be running the show is as mysterious as it is unacceptable says GMB

GMB, the union for Southern Cross staff, was informed yesterday that landlords of the Southern Cross care homes have missed the first deadline that was set for them to take over the homes and appoint new operators. All landlords were due on 1st August to appoint new operators for the 750 homes which house 31,000 elderly and vulnerable residents and employ 42,500 staff.

At a meeting yesterday Southern Cross managers told GMB that they were unable to provide a list as some landlords had yet to appoint new operators and no definite deadline has been fixed. See notes to editors note 1for GMB list of 79 Southern Cross landlords from information from land registries in the UK. Contact details for some of these landlords is available in note 2 below.

GMB was told by the company on 13th July 2011 that the deadlines for the transfers were as follows:

The first 250 Homes could conclude their transfer by 30/9/11. The timetable for the remainder is by 31/10/11. When the process of transfer is complete, “Southern Cross will be wound down".

It in was not known then which homes will go to which operators. All landlords are expected to make their decision on their future operator by 1st August 2011.

Justin Bowden “The shambles that is Southern Cross rumbles on because apparently the landlords still cannot get their act together after pulling the plug last month on Southern Cross. Quite why the landlords as the owners of the buildings should be running the show is as mysterious as it is unacceptable. Surely national government and elected councillors, on behalf of the taxpayer who fund 80% of the bills, should be in driving seat – not the backseat drivers who merely own the buildings.

When will the uncertainty for residents and staff be brought to an end? This is not a widget factory transferring production from one manufacturer to another, this is the homes of the most vulnerable and dependent in our society and they and those who look after them deserve to be treated better.

If the landlords don't pull their fingers out, or government doesn't take a hand, the deadline for the transfer of these operations will not be met and the worry and uncertainty for residents, their families and the staff will not be lifted. It is also high time the landlords and their chosen operators got round the table with the GMB and talked about the future of these homes.

Meanwhile QIA seeks to tip toe away from NHP which it owns and which in turn owns 250 care homes used by Southern Cross which drown in a sea of debts taken out by QIA to pay for these homes. This is both rotten and immoral. QIA should pay off the bondholders at NHP and free these care homes of these debts dragging them down.

Instead the QIA has no shame. It paid £1.5 billion for Harrods. Now QIA are seeking to acquire the Olympic Village for a very large sum. This QIA acquisition should be called in until QIA wipes the slate at NHP. That is the very least the 31,000 residents in Southern Cross deserve”.

End

Contact: GMB Justin Bowden 07710 631 351 or 0208 947 3131 or Chris Jukes 07870 176 733 and Suzanne Reid 07870 176 728

Note 2 below has contact details for landlords

Notes to Editors

1 GMB list of landlords – from information held at UK land registries

Owner	Number of care homes	Total staff	Number of Beds
Aldaniti Investments Ltd	5	385	292
Allianz SE	2	166	168
Andover Real Estate	1	78	84
Andover Real Estate Ltd	2	69	64
Anthony Etherton	1	70	80
Anton Lampo	1	24	8
Apollo-Citrus	15	778	847
BAE Systems Pension Funds Trustees Ltd	2	169	159
Barbara (Aylesbury) Ltd	1	64	59
Blacksmith Enterprises Ltd	1	78	60
Blenheim Property Management Ltd	4	224	179
BlueSky Global Investors	1	0	75
Briaz Ltd	1	71	70
Bridgend County Borough Council	1	50	56
Burghley House Preservation Trust Ltd	1	62	62
Caddick Group PLC	1	81	70
Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd	1	71	55
Care First Health Care Ltd	1	51	28
Citrus Copthorne Real Estate Ltd	2	84	168
Collier Property Ltd	3	219	238
Daejan Holdings PLC	9	449	470
Dromore Investments Ltd	7	618	491
Equalblend Ltd	1	62	59
Finsbury Trust Corporation Ltd	38	1,845	1,931
FSHC (Guernsey) Holdings Ltd - Four Seasons	43	2,044	1,863
Gama Tzedaka Ltd	6	363	315
Garhill Ltd	1	47	40
Handsale Ltd / H&H Care Home Investments Ltd / Starcare Homes	5	335	324
Healthcare Development Services	1	71	57
Healthcare Property Holdings Ltd	31	1,700	1,489
Hindle & Walker Ltd	1	92	81
Holly Rentals Ltd	1	44	36
James Rothwell	1	38	40
Jane Cabot	1	81	86
K/S	2	188	164
K/S Ermyn Way	1	53	54
K/S Focus-Merseyside	1	47	46
K/S Focus-St Helens	1	50	46
K/S Focus-Sunderland	1	54	53
K/s Focus-Warrington Carsten Poulsen, Katholmvej 2b, 1, 2720 Vanlose, Denmark	1	54	52
K/s Rose Lodge Ltd	1	51	54
K/S Weybridge	1	69	76
Kendall Property Ltd	1	137	106
Kenplaid Ltd	1	57	46
Keybank Ltd	1	71	62
Kirkhollow Ltd	3	122	138
Libra Careco / NHP	250	14,328	12,836
Loopsign Ltd (London & Regional)	86	4,508	4,359
Loyds Propco - in Administration (now Bruchmen)	51	2,334	2,130
Middlesbrough Investments Ltd	2	127	90
Nashcare Ltd	1	69	60
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council	1	78	74
Orangetree Ltd	1	72	40
Oxford City Council	1	70	66
Persimmon PLC	1	45	46
Prestige Care Ltd	3	180	195
PSX Holdings Ltd / Prestbury	21	1,294	1,057
Quintain Estates And Development PLC	7	446	411
Regency Investment Ltd	22	1,988	1,657
Riverside Homes Ltd	1	0	33
Rockingham Estates Ltd (Vector Property Group)	38	2,143	2,045
Sandstone Holdings Ltd	1	71	54
Seddon Group Ltd	1	60	50
Southern Cross Healthcare Group	15	382	236
Sovereign Property Holdings	1	81	82
Tara Singh Sidhu, Jaswinder Singh Bahia	1	54	62
Tarvin Estates LLP	1	40	25
The Council Of The Borough Of Kirklees	1	31	38
The Council Of The City Of Stoke-On-Trent	1	60	48
The Holmes Care (Group) Ltd	7	560	428
The Mayor And Burgesses Of The London Borough of Southwark	1	54	58
The Scottish American Investment Company PLC	1	70	60
Thrill Ltd	1	93	81
Umber Properties Ltd	1	110	72
Vingo Properties Ltd	1	92	70
Whitbread PLC	1	69	50
William Aldam	1	89	60
Zest Investment Group Ltd	6	325	390

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