Specialist residential care provider aims to be North West market leader after Growth Hub support

A Preston-headquartered residential care business, which supports young males who have been victims of criminal exploitation, is expanding and developing new services following support from Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.

Elm Residential Care, founded by directors Matt Eastham, Ian Massey and Adam Leigh, launched its first home in January 2024. Since then, it has grown organically and now operates three residential care homes, with plans to open a further two residences a year over the next five years.

Matt Eastham said: “I have a wealth of experience within business and this is the third time I have had Boost’s help. We first contacted the Growth Hub for support with this business around 2023.”

Boost’s experts visited the company to review its unique needs and advise on the most appropriate support available in Lancashire. Elm enrolled onto a Boost programme designed to help Lancashire businesses grow through one-to-one advice and guidance as well as masterclass events.

This helped Elm define its business strategy from the outset and put the correct financial structures in place for growth.

“It’s great to gain external input to help put the basics in place correctly and have a roadmap for business growth,” Matt added. 

“A key aspect of the support was that the three of us have very different skillsets and we were struggling to use those effectively. Boost helped us to map our expertise to use them most effectively for sustained growth.”

Since the Boost support, the company has grown from a team of 9 operating a single residential care home to 27 care staff as well as two payroll and HR staff operating across three homes.

The company also received advice on recruitment as well as guidance on external funding options it could use to support the acquisition of future care homes. To date, the company’s growth has been financed organically. However, Matt, Ian and Adam are currently in talks to take on external funding to accelerate future growth.

“Our initial plan is to open a further 10 homes,” said Matt. “We have also identified and secured a site for an independent school in Bamber Bridge, for children unable to attend mainstream education. This is being supported by Lancashire County Councils Education Commissioning Team. 

“It is a complex and challenging niche within the childrens residential care sector, but Ian and Adam’s experience working within Lancashire Constabularies Child Exploitation Team gives us genuine expertise of working with young victims of this type of exploitation.”

Matt and the company also have their sights set on opening further associated support provisions for vulnerable young people, including a life skills centre in the Lake District, and semi-supported living utilising properties they already own.

“We want to be the go-to provider for local authorities across the UK when looking for residential placements for victims of CCE,” Matt said. “Boost helped us to understand our business ambitions from the outset and develop a strategy to work toward those. I would advise any Lancashire business looking to grow to contact the Growth Hub and understand the support available.”