Schönes Leben Group, a subsidiary of independent private equity company Waterland, has purchased Ulm-based care specialist compassio – operator of currently 28 care homes for elderly people with 3,058 spaces in southern Germany.

The acquisition has taken the recently established Schönes Leben Group on its first steps towards becoming an outstanding platform for retirement care, new ways of living for older people and innovative packages for retirees from the age of 65. Care specialist compassio generates revenue of around 110 million euros and forms the first strategic pillar.

“We can clearly see that customers’ aspirations in this market are undergoing rapid change and we are responding to this change with the Schönes Leben Group. We are going to provide a new impulse with innovative services that are without parallel,” commented Marc Hildebrand, CEO of the Schönes Leben Group.

The packages offered by Schönes Leben are not simply directed towards people in need of care, emphasised Hildebrand but are intended for all people above the age of 65 years who want to make their life more rewarding and varied.

Additional locations are planned for compassio

Hildebrand explained further: “compassio identified and embraced changing market conditions at an early stage through its holistic concept, compassio 5.0. It is adopting a very flexible approach to customer aspirations with a smart combination of home care, residential care and other offerings across all 28 locations in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland Palatinate.” The CEO of the Schönes Leben Group emphasised his commitment to further expanding compassio operations: “Over the coming years, we want to roll out this innovative and high-quality offering in the market across Germany with our main focus on strong organic growth and new-builds.”

“The proven quality of compassio at our 28 locations, the 11 home-care services and our central administration in Ulm provide an ideal foundation for the planned platform of the Schönes Leben Group,” commented Wolfgang Frühschütz, Managing Director of the compassio Group.

Dr Carsten Rahlfs, partner of Waterland, added: “The acquisition of compassio has created the platform for the Schönes Leben Group. Retirement care is now extremely well positioned and offers outstanding growth potential.”

The transaction is subject to approval by the Antitrust Office. The two parties have reached a confidentiality agreement about the purchase price.