Puma Property Finance has provided a £17.5m development loan to Connaught Care to fund a purpose-built 95-bed care home in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. The scheme, on a former brownfield site that previously accommodated railway sidings and a goods shed, is the second Connaught development backed by the lender.
The four-storey building will provide 95 private bedrooms, each with an en-suite wetroom. Communal facilities will include a hair salon, cinema and restaurant, alongside a 39-space car park. The scheme is targeting an EPC A rating and will feature extensive rooftop photovoltaic panels, with Connaught assessing the development against EDGE standards. Practical completion is scheduled for December 2027.
The site sits close to Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, its railway and bus stations and Stratford Hospital. Carterwood data cited by Puma places around 51,000 people within a five-mile catchment, with 4.6% aged 85 or over, against a national average of 2.7%. That translates to a current shortfall of 131 en-suite wetroom beds within the catchment area.
"Stratford-upon-Avon is an attractive and well-connected location, with clear demand for high-quality, purpose-built care accommodation," said Andrew Winstanley, chief executive of Connaught Care.
"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."
Puma previously financed Henbrook House, a 66-bed care home in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, which opened in April 2024. Connaught has now delivered 15 care homes in total and currently operates six new-build homes, with two further sites due to open in 2027.
Tony Throp, director and head of healthcare at Puma Property Finance, said: "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."
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