Buying a home care agency
Is this agency in a market that will keep its clients and carers, at rates that pay?
Check the agency's market: competition within its area, what the council pays against the cost of care, private demand, and the agency's own registration and company record.
When people use it: At first look at an agency for sale, and again in due diligence.
How it works, step by step
The agency and its operator
Find the agency: CQC rating and date, registered manager, branches, and Companies House status, accounts and charges on its profile.
Competition around it
Enter the agency's postcode in Near postcode: every agency within 5, 10 or 15 miles, nearest first. More agencies means more competition for clients and carers.
What the council pays
The council's hourly rate against the industry minimum price: the gap is the loss on each council hour.
Private demand
Home care searches and what a click costs: private clients are where agencies make their margin.
Growth in the market
How fast agencies are growing here: rapid growth means new competitors and tighter recruitment.
The views you will use
Ask the data in plain English
A real question and answer from Ask Orrery, the assistant inside the platform, for a care home owner in Kent (October 2026). It answers only from Orrery's data and the subscriber's own documents, and shows its sources.
Check these five things before buying a home care agency in Maidstone
- Competition. Maidstone has 54 registered home care services, the second most of Kent's 12 districts (CQC care directory, 1 October 2026). Search by the agency's postcode to see who is within 10 miles.
- Council rate. Kent pays £28.05 an hour. The industry minimum price for 2026/27 is £34.42, so council hours are likely to lose money (DHSC, Orrery). Find out how much of the agency's work is council funded.
- Private demand. Private clients are usually where agencies make their margin. Check local search demand.
- Growth. Kent's 85+ population is projected to rise 51% by 2035 (Orrery guide). That supports demand, but it also brings new competitors and tighter recruitment.
- The agency itself. Check its CQC rating, whether the registered manager is staying, and its Companies House accounts and charges.
Open in Orrery: /app/guides/buy-home-care-agency?council=kent
This is a summary of the data, not investment advice. Take professional advice before you buy.
Ask, chart and report, in plain English
Ask Orrery answers from Orrery's data, draws charts on request and builds reports you can save as PDF. These are real examples for Kent.
- An agency mostly on council work at a rate below the minimum price is worth less than one with a strong private client base.
- Check the registered manager is in post: a change of owner often means a change of manager.
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