Page 23 - Stakis A Case Study

Healthcare

Entry into the healthcare market was announced in June

1988 although the first nursing home, on the Clyde Coast,

had been purchased in December 1987.

The Group's early developments in this area were well away

from the South of England where most entrants to the

market were making their move. The Stakis aim was to

create an up-market image in this industry. This, it hoped,

would overcome the traditionally indifferent reputation of

nursing homes - many were of doubtful quality, usually
being small concerns managed by the people who owned

them. Sir Reo commented:

"What we are intending to do is to provide a standard of

care that is perhaps equivalent to that of a four-star

hotel. There is today not just an increasing number of old

people but also a generation which in their working lives

have come to expect high standards of service and want

to maintain those standards in old age. This is a very

fragmented market at the moment and it does offer the

opportunity for a professional company to come in to
improve standards and expand within the sector."