Charity retirement village enters administration

The owner of a retirement village in South Lanarkshire has gone into administration.

Auchlochan Garden Village is understood to have been making a loss since 2009, when it was acquired by MHA Auchlochan.

The appointment of administrators will also see the charity withdraw support for its three other facilities in Scotland.

Flats, apartments and care homes on the site, near Lesmahagow, accommodate more than 300 residents.

It is understood that there will be no redundancies among the 216 staff at this stage.

The BBC understands the charity could not overturn legal contracts which had been part of the business model before it took over.

MHA Auchlochan is said to have invested more than £1m a year to help meet the running costs of the business.

Sam Monaghan, MHA chief executive, said: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly and to support the continuation of services during the process of administration, Auchlochan will be able to draw on a contingency fund of £5m from MHA.

"This will provide the best opportunity for new operators to be found, which includes the potential for leaseholders to set up their own management company."

Mr Monaghan said a review of services had prompted MHA to sell its retirement living facilities at Wesley Court in Granton, Edinburgh; Taransay Court in Milton, Glasgow; and St Andrew's Court in East Kilbride.

Prof Soumen Sengupta, director of health and social care for South Lanarkshire, said: "We will be emphasising to the administrators the importance of them engaging with residents and their families appropriately, to listen to their concerns and respond to their anxieties.

"We will also work closely with the Care Inspectorate to engage with the administrators throughout what we appreciate will be an unsettling period for all involved."

Insolvency practitioners Blair Milne, James Fennessey and Robert Young, of accountancy firm Azets, have been appointed joint administrators of MHA Auchlochan.

The joint administrators will continue to operate the retirement village and care homes.

They will also appoint property agents to market the assets for sale.

Auchlochan sits in 50 acres of grounds and consists of 235 properties with facilities including restaurants, woodland, a community centre, laundry and chaplaincy.

MHA are also withdrawing from some care homes in England and Wales.