Domiciliary care - homecare - is regulated care delivered in a person’s own home rather than in a care home. At its core it is personal care: getting up and to bed, washing, dressing, medication, meals and household tasks. Around that sits companionship, shopping and support with daily living. Many providers also deliver complex care at home - nurse-overseen support for conditions such as dementia, stroke recovery, brain injury, ventilation and palliative care - along with children’s services and outreach support in the community. The complex end needs trained staff and close supervision, and it is paid accordingly.
Why it matters now
Three things are happening at once. First, the population is ageing: the number of people aged 85 or over is projected to double from 1.75 million to 3.6 million by 2049, and older clients need longer visits and more care each week. Second, care is moving out of hospital: the NHS plans to shift spending from hospitals into the community over the next three to four years, which means more care delivered at home. Third, the market is still remarkably fragmented - the four largest operators hold just 8.1% of it. That is why well-run regional providers are receiving letters from consolidators and investors.
How big the market is
UK homecare and supported living is now worth more than £15 billion a year, with around 915,000 adults in England receiving services. It is growing, but it is not easy money: councils paid an average of £24.10 an hour in 2025-26, against the £32.14 the Homecare Association calculated a provider needed that same year to cover wages and compliance - and its calculation for 2026-27 has risen again, to £34.42. Overseas recruitment has effectively closed. The providers that thrive are the ones that manage mix and efficiency deliberately - which is exactly what buyers pay for.
What a business is worth
A homecare business is valued as a multiple of its adjusted EBITDA - the true annual profit once one-off costs are removed and the owner’s pay is restated at a market rate. Smaller agencies change hands at low-to-mid single-digit multiples; larger, well-run groups command materially more. The multiple rises with the same short list every time: size of profit, share of private and complex care in the mix, a current CQC rating, and a business that runs without its owner.
One number worth knowing: only 16.5% of community care locations in England hold a current CQC rating. If yours is current and Good, you are already in the minority a buyer can move on quickly.
Exit readiness
When a buyer looks at a homecare business seriously, the questions are predictable. Where does the profit actually come from, and will it survive a change of owner? How much of the work is private or complex, against council-commissioned hours at thin rates? Do the carers stay? And does the operation hold together when the owner is not in the building? A business that can answer all of that quickly, with numbers rather than assurances, is what the trade calls exit-ready.
Most of the work of getting there is housekeeping - dull, but worth real money. Accounts that are clean and, at scale, audited. One-off costs noted as they happen, so the adjustments to profit are a record rather than an argument. Director and family loans settled, and anything rented or bought from a connected party moved onto normal commercial terms. Buyers do not mark a business down for having had these arrangements; every private company does. They mark it down for still having them at due diligence.
Systems belong in the same tidy-up. Digital rostering, call monitoring and electronic medication records make the operation cheaper to run - less travel between visits, fewer gaps in the rota - and they leave the data trail a buyer wants to see. AI is starting to earn its keep here too, in scheduling that cuts drive time and reporting that can answer a due diligence question the same afternoon. None of this means becoming a software company. It simply means that a provider whose numbers are current, and can be produced on request, sells faster and usually for more than one whose records live in a filing cabinet.
Routes to exit
There are three realistic routes. A trade sale to a larger care group or consolidator is usually the cleanest and often the best-priced, because the buyer can add your business straight onto its platform. A sale to private equity - either as their first platform in the sector or as a bolt-on to one they already own - can value growth potential more generously, and may let you keep a stake. A management buy-out keeps the legacy intact but is the hardest to fund: your managers need to put in capital and take on debt, so it only works with time to prepare.
Whichever route, expect part of the price to be deferred or linked to performance, and never negotiate with only one buyer. Competition is what turns a valuation into a price.
Where we come in
We help owners get from thinking about it to completed: an evidenced view of what the business is worth today, a plan for the two or three things that would raise it, and - when you are ready - a properly run sale process with several buyers at the table. If an exit within three years is even a possibility, the right time for a first conversation is now.
Sources: ONS National population projections, 2024-based. NHS 10 Year Health Plan, 2025. LaingBuisson Homecare & Supported Living UK Market Report, 7th edition, 2026. Homecare Association fee-rate and minimum-price analyses, 2025-27. Figures verified at the date of writing.
Frequently asked questions
How is a homecare business valued?
As a multiple of adjusted EBITDA - the true annual profit once one-off costs are removed and the owner’s pay is restated at a market rate. Smaller agencies change hands at low-to-mid single-digit multiples; larger, well-run groups command materially more. The multiple moves on the same short list every time: size of profit, the share of private and complex care in the mix, a current CQC rating, and whether the business runs without its owner.
Does my CQC rating really affect the price?
Directly. Only 16.5% of community care locations in England hold a current rating at all, so a current Good rating puts you in a minority a buyer can move on quickly. An out-of-date or poor rating does not just trim the price - it can stall a deal while the buyer waits for re-inspection.
What are the realistic exit routes?
Three. A trade sale to a larger care group or consolidator is usually the cleanest and often the best-priced. Private equity - as a first platform or a bolt-on - can value growth more generously and may let you keep a stake. A management buy-out keeps the legacy intact but is the hardest to fund and needs the most preparation time. Whichever route, expect part of the price to be deferred or performance-linked.
When should I start preparing to sell?
If an exit within three years is even a possibility, now. Most of the value in preparation is housekeeping - clean accounts, one-off costs recorded as they happen, connected-party arrangements moved onto commercial terms, current systems data - and it is worth far more done two years out than argued over in due diligence.
Accurate as at the date above. Tax rules and lending criteria change, and your position depends on your own numbers - take advice before acting on anything here.