A CARE home in Minehead has a new owner.

Minehead Nursing and Residential Home has been taken over by Welford Healthcare, supported by real estate investment trust Impact Healthcare REIT.

The home is one of three taken over by Welford, which has bought out previous owners Eastleigh Care Group.

The other two were East Street Residential Home and Raleigh Mead Nursing Home, both in Devon.

A spokesperson for Christie & Co, who carried out the sale, said the three homes are "very high quality with excellent reputations, strong trading performances, good occupancy levels, and strong management teams in place".

The Eastleigh portfolio was previously run by Gary Wilson, who is retiring from the sector.

He said: "It has been a pleasure serving the communities of South Molton and the wider areas of North Devon and Exmoor, latterly Minehead and West Somerset, for nearly 30 years as Eastleigh Care Group.

"A particular highlight for me was when I was lucky enough to win two Pinder design awards in 2003 and 2006. These were very special, unexpected days.

"I would like to thank all my team members for their help and dedication and like to wish them continued success working alongside Peter and Will, also the smooth way in which Simon and our professional teams conducted the transaction.”

Peter Madden, partner at Welford Healthcare, said: “As we continue to implement our acquisition strategy focused on high-quality, well-performing care homes; we are delighted to welcome the Eastleigh care homes into the Welford group of homes.

"We look forward to starting work with the teams and resident communities.”

Simon Harvey, senior director of healthcare at Christie & Co, who worked on the sale, said: "Having known Garry for many years, and seeing the group grow with the new builds at Minehead and, latterly, South Molton, I am delighted to have assisted his retirement from the sector.

"He has created extremely high-quality homes with a focus on excellent levels of care and leaves a strong legacy.

"We are equally pleased to have worked with the team at Welford Healthcare to assist their continued growth and expansion and wish them well with the operation of these homes and the others they have across the country.”

Eastleigh Care Group was sold for an undisclosed price.