Nepali investor acquires two care homes in Wales, England

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 6: Bira Care Homes, which has gained a leading position in the UK healthcare sector, has acquired two new care homes for further strengthening its position in the field.

The company has finalised the purchase of a care home in Ebbw Vale, in southern Wales, and another one in Hereford, England, and taken ownership following the completion of legal procedures from Tuesday.

The two care homes, which were purchased with an investment of 12 million pounds (about Rs. 2.12 billion), have a total of 123 beds. 

The company has taken loans from Barclays Bank and the Development Bank of Wales for the purchase.

The 54-bed Bankhouse Care Home (Ebbw Vale) and another care home in Hereford with 69 beds will provide high-quality dementia and nursing care services, said B.P. Khanal, managing director of Bira Care Homes.

According to him, these two care homes alone will employ more than 200 staff. 

With a total of 500 people currently employed by Bira Care Homes, which operates seven businesses, including nursing homes and care homes, it has become the largest care home group run by Nepali-origin entrepreneurs in the UK, he claimed.

The journey of success of Bira Care Homes is linked to the inspiring life journey of its founder and managing director Khanal.

Khanal, who came to Kathmandu from Arghakhanchi in the mid-1990s with just £12 (approximately Rs. 2,000), established an educational consultancy within a year while studying at Shankar Dev Campus.

From 1999 to 2001, he ran a consultancy in Kathmandu to advise Nepali students who wanted to study abroad.

In search of business opportunities, he started travelling to the UK from 2001 to 2004 and opened the first Nepali educational consultancy company in Harrow, London in 2004. 

Then, in 2005, he established a college, which had more than 700 students studying in 2010. Later, he sold the college and bought another college in Singapore.

Khanal and his wife entered the healthcare sector in 2011 by purchasing their first care home in Newport.

Under their own leadership, they subsequently purchased Avenue Road Care Home in 2015, Roselle Care Home in 2017, and two more care homes by the end of 2023. Khanal informed that plans have also been made to build another 50-bed dementia care home at a cost of £10 million.

Khanal’s journey, which has faced long struggles, challenges and sometimes near financial crises, is also an example of determination and visionary thinking.

Khanal attributes his success to the collective support of his family, especially his wife and three children. 

He said that he will expand his investment horizon to Nepal and other countries in the days ahead.