Managing risk & delivering care: how Black Swan Care Group thrives in a challenging sector

Black Swan Care Group traces its origins back to 1991, when three former finance professionals, Brett Burton, Clive Hill, and Steve Winfield began an unconventional entrepreneurial journey: importing and selling Ugg boots. 

Brett spotted the opportunity to import and sell the sheepskin footwear, originating in Australia, to the UK market. In a nod to his Australian heritage, Brett named the company after the state bird of Western Australia, the black swan. The venture proved premature, however, and in a significant pivot, the trio turned their attention toward residential care, opening their first home, Nightingale Lodge, in Hunstanton, in 1994. The name and logo, however, were retained.  

What began as one home has developed into a portfolio of 23 spread throughout the East of England, providing care and support to over 700 residents across elderly and dementia care and supported living for individuals with learning and physical disabilities. We spoke to Tom Lyons, Managing Director of Black Swan Care Group, to get some insight into how they manage their risks as they grow. 

The care sector is a growing industry; statistics show that around 13.2 million people are currently aged over 65 in the UK, and this figure is expected to increase to over 16 million by 2034.

“From viewing a home to completing the purchase, including changing registration [with the CQC], we can do it within 30 days; our most recent purchase was 15 working days from viewing to completion. 

“We will always put people before profit. By doing that you build a really strong reputation. We're not fanatics on budgets; we're not fanatics on KPIs. We recognise that to make money, you have to spend it.

“A lot of the care homes we acquire haven't invested in their services for a number of years, and they're relying on local authority-funded individuals. The care fees that we get from a local authority barely cover the cost of delivering it, so you have to invest in your properties to attract the private fee-paying individuals. We position ourselves at the top end of the middle market as we can provide a personal level of care, with a return on investment, that allows us to continually invest in the service and experience we’re providing.” 

Property in the UK elderly care sector has seen a trend towards large, new-build homes over recent years. However, Black Swan’s portfolio focuses on boutique-style homes, with a model built around putting the person at the centre of their care offering, and providing a home that any resident, and their family, would be happy and comfortable living in.  

“Everything we do is built around the individual and a personal approach, and so the majority of our care homes are slightly smaller than new builds, but we provide what we consider to be a significantly better experience. Our team will develop a detailed care plan with the resident and their family to really get to know what their history is and what their care needs are and then work to that when delivering the care that resident needs.” 

Black Swan is in the top 1% of care companies to have all their homes rated ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ by the CQC. But they are not content with that accolade. With staff shortages within the care sector well-documented since Brexit, they take pride in their ability to attract and retain staff, giving them one of the lowest staff turnovers in the sector. Their approach to recruitment and onboarding has recently been recognised with an award from Apollo Health and Social Care, enabling them to reduce reliance on agency staff and provide residents with a consistent, friendly face. But staffing is just one of the risks the Group faces. 

“We have a really transparent risk management approach and quality assurance process. We have delineated duties ensuring that all of our health and safety compliance is maintained. Our starting point is to make sure that everyone is well-trained, supervised, and has all the information they need. There's a very clear process every day for walk-rounds of the homes and the various checks that need to be done on a weekly, daily, and monthly basis; from fire alarm testing to Legionella water checks, etc.  

Black Swan has relied on Alan Boswell Group to support their risk management with robust insurance solutions since 2020, looked after by Account Executive, Will Roffey. 

“We always get good assurance from Will that we’re getting the best value. We have 1,000 staff, 700 residents, and another 5,000 family members that we're interacting with on a daily basis. It’s all about relationships. So as a company and individuals, if we weren't ‘people people’, then we're probably in the wrong sector. It's really important to us when we're working with companies that they have a similar mindset. That they are people we can trust; that share our values. If they’re local, that’s even better for us. 

As Black Swan’s insurance broker, our expert understanding of their business and the risks they face on a day-to-day basis ensures that we provide them with tailored policies that protect their property, liabilities, fleet, and cyber liability. In particular, we ensure that their liability exposures, such as resident welfare, staff liability, property damage, or regulatory compliance, are comprehensively covered. This means they are protected against claims that could arise from incidents involving residents, visitors, or staff, protecting their financial position and their reputation. By structuring policies around the specific challenges of operating care homes, we give Black Swan the assurance that their key liabilities are insured to the right level. 

“We have quite a complex number of businesses; a total of six different businesses across 23 different locations. Working with Alan Boswell's means that we can utilise the experience of a reputable company, with knowledge of our business, the care sector, and our risks. That can give us the best advice possible and ensure that our insurance needs are met in a way that safeguards us from as much risk as possible. 

“A real benefit for us is having the support there every day if we need it. Be it a question about our fleet, our pension [looked after by Senior Employee Benefits Consultant, Dee Myhill], our cash plan [looked after by Head of Healthcare, Alex Mhandu] or whatever, Boswells are always at the end of the phone. We’re able to speak to someone locally who can meet us face-to-face who understands the business. 

“On the claims side, thankfully, we haven’t had many, but, when we have, Will has led on those conversations. He understands the stress of making a claim and deals with a lot of that for us, so that we can get on with running the business.” 

Having the right insurance in place has been a key part of enabling Black Swan to focus on their residents and plan for the future. From ensuring their existing homes are fully protected to structuring cover for new acquisitions and refurbishments, we work with them to make sure their liabilities, property, and business continuity are all properly insured. This gives them the confidence to focus on growth, while covered for the risks that come with running care services. 

“We've got a lot of plans to grow. We're setting up a home care business at the moment, and there are a number of other care homes on the market which we are looking at, as well as focusing on the refurbishment of our newest acquisition, Taverham Grove, which we’re aiming to open later this year.” 

To find out more about, Black Swan Care Group, click here.