A CARE home group with 290 beds is set to expand after securing £7.6million for refinancing and growth.

Luxury Care Group was established 18 years ago by Kevin Gunputh and has grown from two sites to five purpose-built homes.

Its sites in Poole and Bournemouth offer residential, dementia and nursing care and specialist services. One of its homes, Branksome Park, operates a specialist neurological unit for people over 18 with life-limiting conditions.

It secured the £7.6m funding package from ThinCats, a leading alternative lender for medium-sized enterprises.

Luxury Care Group was introduced to ThinCats by Steve Chester at Axis Commercial, a specialist in the field with a long-term relationship with both Luxury Care Group and Richard Henshaw, director of national development in healthcare at ThinCats.

Kevin Gunputh, chief executive of Luxury Care Group Ltd, said: “We believe in providing holistic care that matches the needs of our clients and operate our homes to the highest standards. Having worked with Steve at Axis for several years, we wanted a funder that also understood our needs and ThinCats have lived up to that expectation. The funding comes at an important time for the group as we look to grow out of a challenging period for the sector.”

Steve Chester, owner of Axis Commercial Finance, said: “Our long-term partnership with Kevin ensured we were able to match his specific funding requirements with a suitable lender very quickly. The fact that a funding package was agreed expeditiously and processed in a timely manner is testament to the ability and professionalism of Richard and his team at ThinCats.”

Richard Henshaw, director of national development healthcare at ThinCats, said: “Kevin and the team at Luxurycare are vastly experienced and operate some of the best care homes in the UK. We are very pleased to be continuing to provide support to the healthcare sector, and look forward to seeing their continued growth.”

Legal advice for Luxurycare was provided by Neil Cook at Ellis Jones Solicitors and ThinCats was supported by Paddy Sturman at Irwin Mitchell.