Chairman and co-founder of Country Court, Abdul Kachra, has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award for his outstanding contribution to the care sector. Health and Social Care Consultant Bhavna Keane-Rao presented him with the award at the annual Healthcare Property Awards hosted by global property consultant Knight Frank.
The award comes as Peterborough-based Country Court celebrates its 40th Anniversary in 2023. From humble beginnings Abdul Kachra, his wife Naila and her sister Roshan, founded the business with one care home near Holbeach, Lincolnshire in 1983. The award-winning group will be operating nearly 50 care homes across the UK by the end of 2023, with ongoing expansion plans for 2024 and beyond. The family-led ethos has been retained through the forty-year history with sons Alykhan and Al-Karim now co-CEOs.
Commenting on his father’s award, Al-Karim Kachra said, “Coming to the UK from the island of Zanzibar in 1969 with very little, he has achieved so much. More inspirational than his business success is the three years he spent away from the business, being a full-time carer to my mother in the final years of her life. He continues to be a mentor to all the people around him, we all try our best to keep up with him.”
Speaking to attendees at the Knight Frank Healthcare Property Lunch on 5th October at The London Marriott Hotel, Abdul Kachra said. “I am very proud of the care we have provided over the last forty years. It is the people that make our company special, and I would like to thank them all for the work they have done and continue to do in this highly important sector.”
The Knight Frank Healthcare Property Awards were attended by over 500 people, including special guest Sir Mo Farah. The event raised over £50,000 for the Matt Hampson Foundation and The Clock Tower Foundation.
The Country Court story began in 1983 when Roshan was a nurse working for the NHS, while her sister Naila and husband Abdul Kachra were running a grocer’s in Wolverhampton, Birmingham. One morning, while Abdul was wrapping meat for a customer using a Dalton’s Weekly newspaper, he noticed an advert for an old farmhouse in a village he had never heard of. Looking closer, the old farmhouse was a care home which had been struggling financially. When Roshan returned from her shift at the hospital, Abdul and Naila sat with her to discuss this new opportunity. All in agreement, they viewed the care home in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. It was a significant change from their current life, but with Roshan’s background in care, they fell in love with the idea of looking after elderly people in such a peaceful setting. They uprooted their lives to pursue a new passion, in a new location and in 1983 Beech Lodge became Country Court’s first care home.
Today, Country Court is both caring for and employing thousands of people across the UK, with every person part of their family. Despite a national presence they aim to stay local. Individual communities are what matter, and they aspire to embody this notion.
For more information about Country Court please contact Marketing Manager, Lucy Bateson on marketing@countrycourtcare.com
