Northern Ireland’s largest privately-owned care home operator is to create 950 jobs as part of multimillion pound investment plan

Northern Ireland’s largest privately-owned care home operator Healthcare Ireland has set out plans to create up to 950 jobs in the province as part of a multimillion pound investment plan backed by a specialist US investment company.

The group has partnered with Welltower - the largest owner of healthcare real estate assets in the world – and said it intends to grow the number of homes it operates in Northern Ireland to over 40, including its existing pipeline, as well as developing sites across the rest of the UK, the island of Ireland and Scotland.

Founded by entrepreneur Gilbert Yates in 2015, Holywood-headquartered Healthcare Ireland has grown rapidly over the last eight years and currently runs 25 care homes in the province, including the development of a specialist care home in Ballymena.

It provides the highest quality care by working alongside Northern Ireland’s health trusts and focusing on developing bespoke care packages aligned with each individual’s requirements.

Gilbert Yates, founder of Healthcare Ireland, said: “We have set out the next stage of our plan to grow our portfolio of care homes across the UK and Ireland. Our partnership with Welltower is testament to the success of our operations since setting up the business and we are excited to be able to bring our high quality care to more regions in the coming months and years.

“Healthcare Ireland is hugely ambitious and we are already in the process of growing our portfolio of care homes across the UK and Ireland from our base here in Holywood. This is just the start of our plans for the future which will see us bring our best-in-class care home offering to the world.

“Our team of highly committed and talented staff are behind our success and we look forward to adding to the quality team in the very near future with the addition of at between 750 and 950 new roles.”

Jorge Manrique, VP Investments at Welltower, explained: “We are delighted to be teaming up with Healthcare Ireland in Northern Ireland, where their name is a byword for quality care. The team has built an excellent portfolio of assets and we are looking forward to supporting them as they rollout their growth plans in the coming months.”

The move follows a period of growth for the company which saw the purchase of a portfolio of seven homes from Priory Adult Care last year. Healthcare Ireland’s full portfolio of care homes is based in all corners of Northern Ireland.

The business was founded by Gilbert Yates in 2015 and has grown both organically and acquisitively since then to become the largest privately-owned care home provider in Northern Ireland. The group’s clear focus is to continuously deliver and develop best-in-class care in partnership with Northern Ireland Health Trusts, to facilitate individual requirements and create bespoke care packages and living environments.

At the recent Staff Nursing Awards 2023 held at Titanic Belfast it won Care Home Group of the Year while Sharon Clegg from the group’s Bannview Care Home took home the title of Registered Nurse of the Year.

READ MORE: