Dubious Dealings Leave Nursing Home Chain Under Threat Of Collapse; 31,000 Elderly Residents Could Face The Boot

The New York Post reports:

• Don't tell Blackstone Group chief executive Stephen Schwarzman that lightning doesn't strike twice. The New York billionaire private-equity kingpin has become the subject of a blistering attack in the British media after the country's No. 1 nursing home chain, formerly owned by Blackstone, has run into a financial iceberg -- possibly putting its 31,000 residents in danger of being booted from their homes.
• The reports have blamed Blackstone for putting the chain, the 750-unit Southern Cross, in financial straits. "Former Southern Cross tycoon owns five houses worth $125.9M while 31,000 residents may have to leave their care homes," trumpeted a headline on the Daily Mail site on Sunday, referring to Schwarzman.

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• Private-equity firms that invested in Southern Cross split off the company's real estate from its actual nursing homes. This doomed the company as landlords increased rents and said they will not give the chain, which is losing money, a break.
• This comes after the British government cut reimbursement for nursing home services, leading to the Southern Cross cash crunch. If the landlord and Southern Cross do not reach a compromise in about one month, there is a danger that the chain could collapse.

For more, see Don't kill granny (Schwarzman under fire in UK over retirees).