Meet Cumbria Quality Care

For most of our properties, Housemartin partners with Registered Providers (RPs) such as Golden Lane Housing, who lease properties and then work with care organisations to support the people living there.

At Brunswick Square, the structure is slightly different.

Our lease counterparty is Cumbria Quality Care Limited (CQC), a specialist care provider based in Cumbria. Rather than acting as a housing provider, their role is to deliver care and support to people with complex needs, helping them live independently and safely within the community.

Because this is a different model to some of our existing properties, we carried out extensive due diligence before approving CQC as a lease counterparty.

Who Are Cumbria Quality Care?

Cumbria Quality Care is a family-run business that has been operating for more than 14 years. The company was founded by Sharon and Alan Baxter and has grown from a small local care provider into a specialist organisation employing more than 65 staff across Cumbria.

The business focuses on supporting people with complex needs, including autism, learning disabilities and other conditions requiring high levels of specialist support. In many cases, the individuals they support have previously experienced placement breakdowns elsewhere and require highly tailored care packages.

Today, the company works with local authorities, NHS organisations and commissioners across the region and supports people in a number of specialist supported living settings.

What Does A Care Provider Do?

A care provider is responsible for supporting the people who live in a property.
This includes recruiting and training staff, providing day-to-day care, helping residents access education and community activities, working with families, and ensuring support plans are delivered safely and effectively.

In Brunswick Square, the housing and tenancy arrangements will be managed separately through a Registered Provider structure, while Cumbria Quality Care will focus on delivering the care and support that residents need. In this case the Registered provider is the YMCA.

Supported living emerged in the late 20th century as a radical departure from institutionalisation.

Rooted in the civil rights and disability rights movements, the model prioritised independence, community inclusion, and personal choice.

This separation of housing and care responsibilities is a common feature of supported living schemes.

Our Due Diligence Process

Before approving CQC, we undertook a detailed review of the business, including:

• Meetings with the directors.
• Review of company accounts and financial projections.
• Review of the proposed operating model for Brunswick Square.
• Review of local authority and commissioner relationships.
• Review of the directors’ backgrounds.
• Companies House checks and corporate due diligence.
• Assessment of the long-term viability of the scheme.

We also conducted checks on both directors and found nothing adverse.
As part of our review, we raised a number of questions regarding historic trading performance, the Brunswick Square operating model and the company’s future growth plans. We were satisfied with the explanations and supporting information provided.

Our Impression

What stood out most during the process was the integrity of the directors and the transparency and communication of the financials for both the specific property and the company as whole.

Questions were answered quickly, openly and in detail. Requests for additional information were dealt with promptly and the directors were willing to discuss every aspect of the business with us.

Official external documents have been provided by way of evidential proof.
It is clear that Cumbria Quality Care has built strong relationships with local authorities and commissioners over many years. Just as importantly, it is obvious from our conversations that they genuinely care about the people they support and are focused on delivering long-term outcomes rather than simply filling placements.

The company has grown steadily over more than a decade, remains family-owned and has developed a specialist reputation within its local area.

Following our due diligence review, Housemartin’s board approved Cumbria Quality Care Limited as a lease counterparty for Brunswick Square and we look forward to working with them over the years ahead.