The Care500
The 500 care operators that run England
543 operators qualify. These are the top 500, ranked on CQC ratings, scale, inspection recency and trading history — and on nothing else. No operator can pay to move up.
Top 20 operators
| # | Operator | Index | Homes | Beds | Rating | Rating age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Care UK | 84.4 | 346 | 23,755 | 3.06 | 2.9yr |
| 2 | Exemplar Health Care Limited | 81.4 | 58 | 1,730 | 3.02 | 1.7yr |
| 3 | Care South | 81.3 | 14 | 804 | 3.00 | 2.3yr |
| 4 | Somerset Care | 80.5 | 21 | 1,179 | 3.15 | 4.2yr |
| 5 | Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution | 80.3 | 14 | 820 | 3.28 | 6.6yr |
| 6 | Welford Healthcare | 79.8 | 34 | 2,199 | 2.96 | 3.3yr |
| 7 | Colten Care | 79.5 | 21 | 1,231 | 3.33 | 7.4yr |
| 8 | Prestwick Care | 79.4 | 16 | 889 | 3.31 | 3.6yr |
| 9 | Forest Care Limited | 79.2 | 5 | 300 | 3.25 | 2.4yr |
| 10 | Sanctuary Care Limited | 79.1 | 104 | 4,894 | 2.99 | 5.2yr |
| 11 | Hamberley Care Homes | 79.0 | 25 | 1,724 | 2.98 | 2.0yr |
| 12 | Carebase | 78.9 | 13 | 859 | 3.16 | 4.6yr |
| 13 | Orders of St John Care Trust | 78.2 | 52 | 2,964 | 3.01 | 4.8yr |
| 14 | Abbeyfield Society | 77.8 | 41 | 1,314 | 3.02 | 3.3yr |
| 15 | The Council of St Monica Trust | 77.3 | 4 | 380 | 3.46 | 4.5yr |
| 16 | BUPA Group | 76.5 | 121 | 7,136 | 2.91 | 4.0yr |
| 17 | Avery | 76.0 | 100 | 8,332 | 2.92 | 3.3yr |
| 18 | Barchester Healthcare | 75.9 | 241 | 15,139 | 2.92 | 3.8yr |
| 19 | Runwood | 75.9 | 66 | 4,637 | 2.85 | 2.3yr |
| 20 | Hampshire County Council | 75.7 | 19 | 922 | 3.00 | 6.5yr |
See all 500 ranked operators →
What this is
Two boards. The Care 500 ranks England’s care operators on open CQC and Companies House data. It cannot be bought — that is the point of it.
The supplier directory lists 339 companies selling into the sector. Listing is free; order is set by standing monthly bid, and marked as paid.
Supplier categories
One finding
5,446 of 13,618 rated care homes in England — 40.0%, holding 149,043 beds — were last inspected more than five years ago. A “Good” badge may describe a building, a manager and a staff team that have all since changed. Every listing here carries the date its rating was published.