Puma Property Finance has provided a £17.5 million development loan to Connaught Care to fund the delivery of a new purpose-built 95-bed care home in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. 

Once complete, the four-storey care home will provide 95 private bedrooms, each with an en-suite wetroom. It will also offer a range of communal facilities, including a hair salon, cinema and restaurant, alongside a 39-space car park. The scheme is targeting an EPC A rating and benefits from extensive PV panels on the roof, with Connaught assessing the development against EDGE standards.

The site occupies a prominent position close to Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, railway and bus stations, and Stratford Hospital. 

The local area has strong underlying demand for high-quality care provision. Carterwood data identifies a population of approximately 51,000 people within a five-mile catchment, with 4.6% aged 85 or over, compared with a national average of 2.7%. The same data indicates a current shortfall of 131 en-suite wetroom beds within the catchment area, reducing to 36 once the scheme is included. 

Connaught Care is an experienced developer and operator of premium care homes. The team behind the business has delivered 15 care homes to date. Connaught Care currently operates six new-build care homes, with a further two scheduled to open in 2027. 

This is the second Connaught development supported by Puma. Puma previously funded the development of Henbrook House, a 66-bed care home in St Neots, which opened in April 2024. 

Practical completion of the Stratford-upon-Avon development is forecast for December 2027. 

Andrew Winstanley, CEO of Connaught Care, commented: 

“Stratford-upon-Avon is an attractive and well-connected location, with clear demand for high-quality, purpose-built care accommodation. This development will allow us to bring forward a modern home designed around residents’ comfort, wellbeing and day-to-day experience, with generous private rooms, en-suite wetrooms and a broad range of communal amenities.

“We are pleased to be working with Puma again, following their support for Henbrook House in St Neots. Their understanding of the care sector, and of our approach as a developer and operator, makes them a valued funding partner as we progress this next scheme.”
 

Tony Throp, Director & Head of Healthcare at Puma Property Finance, added:

“We are delighted to be supporting Connaught Care on another high-quality care home development. The team has a strong track record in the sector, both as developers and operators, and the successful delivery of Henbrook House provides a clear precedent for this latest scheme.

“This scheme is also another example of our continued appetite to support experienced sponsors delivering much-needed beds in undersupplied local markets.”