The signals we track
Sixteen things that happen to a care business, each one a reason somebody might want to hear from you. Every count below is from our own data, as at 9 October 2026.
Last 90 days · our record starts 1 April 2026.
Opened
340- A new care home has been registered and can take its first residents or clients.From CQC and Ofsted data, read daily.A new home signs every supplier contract for the first time, and most of them in its first three months.
Planning application
99- A planning application for a new care home, or for more beds at an existing one, has been validated by the council.From the planning portals of 381 local areas, read daily.The earliest notice any care home supplier gets for a new opportunity (twelve to twenty-four months.
Approved or under construction
1,074- A new care home, or an extension to an existing one, has planning approval or building work under way, but is not yet registered.From the planning portals of 381 local areas, read daily.This gives you the next longest notice of any signal; six to eighteen months before.
Registered manager post vacant
993- The home's registered manager has left and the post is unfilled.From CQC data, read daily.A home without a manager is at risk on its rating and under pressure on its rota. For recruiters this is the strongest signal.
New registered manager
1,176- A new manager has been registered at the home.From CQC and Ofsted data, read daily.New managers review suppliers, systems and agencies, and many bring relationships from their previous home.
Nominated individual changed
536- The person accountable to the regulator for the care provider has changed.From CQC data, read daily.A change at the top of a care provider usually precedes changes in how it buys.
Changed hands
150- A location has moved from one care provider to another.From CQC and Ofsted data with Companies House, read daily.A new owner reviews every contract, and the existing suppliers rarely know until the switch is made.
New provider
87- A care provider has registered for the first time.From CQC and Ofsted data, read daily.Everything is a first purchase, from the care records system to the laundry.
Growing
54- The home's registered number of beds or places has increased.From CQC and Ofsted data, read daily.The new capacity has been registered, so the beds are about to fill. Homes will be arranging new staff, more agency cover, more meals, more laundry, more training places and more s.
Shrinking
21- Registered beds or places have decreased.From CQC and Ofsted data, read daily.A home that is reducing its capacity is potentially a home under review by its owners. For lenders and advisers it is an early signal for an asset sale, and for existing suppliers a reason to call bef.
Rating changed
Count to follow- The regulator's rating has moved up or down.From CQC and Ofsted data, read daily. Count to follow: the ratings signal is being built.A fall to Requires Improvement starts an improvement plan, potentially involving re-assessment of all aspects of the home. Getting to Good or Outstanding may require inv.
Directors and control
479- A filing at Companies House about who runs or controls the business: directors appointed or resigned, persons with significant control notified or updated, changes of name. Counted per business, not per home.From Companies House, read daily.Alongs.
Sale in progress
8- The combination of filings that accompanies a care business being sold.From Companies House and CQC data, read daily.The window between a sale being agreed and CQC data recording the new provider, which is when advisers, lenders and incoming suppliers are chosen.
Lending activity
40- A charge has been created or satisfied against a care business.From Companies House, read daily.New borrowing precedes acquisition or expansion; a satisfied charge precedes a refinancing or a sale.
In difficulty
0- Accounts overdue, a strike-off notice, administration or liquidation.From Companies House and the London Gazette, read daily.For lenders and acquirers, the earliest public sign; for suppliers, a reason to check terms.
Acquirers active
413- Groups that have bought one or more care businesses in the last twelve months.From CQC and Ofsted data with Companies House, read daily.The buyers who are buying now, with what they have bought and where.
Where it all comes from
- CQC data, read daily
- Ofsted data, read weekly and at each publication
- Companies House, read daily
- Charity Commission, read weekly
- The London Gazette, read daily
- Planning portals of 381 local areas, read daily
The full list, what we take from each and the licences are in the data notice.
Every signal above is on the Deal Desk for your territory, ranked for your edition.
A date says where it came from: when the data source does not say when something happened, we say when we detected it. Last 90 days · our record starts 1 April 2026.
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