Mears Group
A United Kingdom provider of social-housing maintenance, housing management, care and community-support services.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Mears Group plc is a United Kingdom-based provider of housing and social-care services. Its principal business is serving local authorities, housing associations, government departments and other public-sector clients through long-term contracts. The company repairs, maintains and improves social housing, delivers property-management and facilities services, develops and operates supported or extra-care housing, and provides selected community-care services. It has been described as maintaining more than 700,000 social homes across the United Kingdom. The business began in Gloucestershire in 1988 as a contractor focused on the social-housing market. A major change came in 1996, when Bob Holt acquired the company, assumed an active management role and led an expansion programme. Mears floated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market in the same year. During the late 1990s and early 2000s it grew rapidly, combining organic expansion with acquisitions, particularly in facilities management and related property services. The acquisition of Haydon & Co in 1999 was an early significant transaction. Mears later moved from AIM to the London Stock Exchange's main market in 2008. The group expanded beyond traditional repairs and maintenance into care and supported-living activities. It acquired Careforce in 2007, took over more than 20 home-improvement services from Anchor in 2011, and bought Morrison Facilities Services from AWG in 2012. In 2013 it acquired Independent Living Services Scotland and launched Mears Nurseplus, extending its offer into health-related and complex-care staffing. The purchase of Omega Group in 2014 added private-sector residential lettings and management services connected with social housing. In 2015 Mears acquired Care UK's home-care division and subsequently operated it as Mears Care. The company also narrowed its portfolio when particular activities became commercially difficult. It withdrew from solar photovoltaic work after reductions in feed-in tariffs and, during the middle of the 2010s, reduced the scale of its care operations. In 2016 Mears said it was withdrawing from certain local-authority care contracts because the available payments did not cover operating costs. In 2020 it sold its domiciliary-care division to Cera Care and stated that it would concentrate more closely on housing with care. Mears has also undertaken government-contracted accommodation work. In 2019 it was announced as the successor to Serco on a Home Office contract providing accommodation for asylum seekers in Glasgow. The company's handling of asylum accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic attracted criticism from charities, residents and parliamentary bodies, particularly after moves from private apartments to hotels and complaints about support, communication and vulnerability assessments. The Glasgow accommodation programme became one of the most publicly scrutinised areas of the group's operations. In housing with care, Mears was named Cornwall Council's lead strategic partner in 2020 for a seven-year programme involving 750 extra-care housing units. The group therefore operates across a continuum that runs from responsive repairs and planned maintenance to housing management, supported accommodation, extra-care development and community-based support. Its positioning is primarily institutional and public-service oriented rather than consumer branded: reputation, contract delivery, regulatory compliance, workforce capacity and relationships with public bodies are central to its business model.
History
Mears Group was established in Gloucestershire in 1988 as a contractor serving the social-housing sector. Its early work was centered on repairs, maintenance and related property services for public and social-housing landlords. The decisive phase of its corporate development began in 1996, when Bob Holt acquired the company and took over its management. Mears floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange during the same year. Between 1996 and 2003, Mears expanded rapidly. The period was marked by strong reported profit growth and substantial increases in the company's share value, although these historical performance figures should be interpreted in their original time context rather than as a guide to later results. The company pursued acquisitions largely within facilities management and adjacent property services. Haydon & Co, acquired in 1999, was an important early transaction. Mears continued to expand through the late 2000s. It acquired Careforce in 2007 and transferred from AIM to the London Stock Exchange's main market in 2008. Social-housing work remained the core of the business, and management sought to increase its exposure to repairs and improvement services. The company also withdrew from solar photovoltaic activity after reductions in feed-in tariffs made that market less attractive. The group's acquisition programme resumed with the transfer of more than 20 Home Improvement Services from Anchor in 2011 and the purchase of Morrison Facilities Services from AWG in 2012. In 2013, Mears acquired Independent Living Services Scotland and introduced Mears Nurseplus. Nurseplus added health-related staffing and clinical support for adults and children with complex acute or chronic conditions. It subsequently obtained a place on an NHS framework for supplying staff to NHS establishments in Scotland. Mears broadened its housing-management capabilities in 2014 through the acquisition of Omega Group, a private-sector provider of residential lettings and management services connected with the social-housing market. The group was also named preferred bidder for the Living Well@Home services contract of Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust, a proposed programme combining information systems with community-based services. In 2015, Mears bought Care UK's home-care division for £11.3 million and renamed it Mears Care. The acquisition materially enlarged its care workforce and service base. However, by 2016 management was publicly arguing that some local-authority care contracts were financially unsustainable. Mears announced that it would withdraw from contracts where the amount paid did not cover delivery costs. By 2017 it had reduced the size of its care businesses by about 20 percent and viewed housing as the stronger part of the portfolio. A leadership transition was announced in 2018, when Bob Holt prepared to step away from active involvement after 23 years as chief executive. Kieran Murphy was named as his successor. Mears then increased its role in government accommodation services. In 2019 it was announced as the replacement for Serco on a Home Office contract providing asylum accommodation in Glasgow. The Glasgow contract became a major source of public controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mears moved approximately 350 asylum seekers from private apartments into six hotels. Critics argued that the moves reduced independence, made social distancing more difficult and were sometimes carried out with little notice. The Home Office also suspended a daily support payment, leaving some residents dependent on accommodation-provider services and with reduced access to communications and external assistance. The death of Adnan Walid Elbi at a Glasgow guest house, the later stabbing incident involving Badreddin Abadlla Adam at a city-centre hotel, and the death of Mercy Baguma in Govan were discussed in wider criticism of the asylum system and accommodation conditions. A House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee report subsequently advised that people should not be moved during the pandemic without urgent justification and a safe, documented vulnerability assessment. In January 2020 Mears announced its intention to sell its domiciliary-care division. The division, which operated across England, Wales and Scotland, was sold to Cera Care the following month. Mears said the disposal supported a narrower focus on housing with care. Later in 2020, Cornwall Council appointed the group as lead strategic partner for a seven-year programme to deliver 750 extra-care housing units. The company's modern identity consequently rests primarily on social-housing maintenance, property management, supported accommodation and housing-with-care, while its earlier broad domiciliary-care activities have been reduced.
- 2020
Domiciliary-care division sold to Cera Care
[1]The disposal supported Mears's stated strategy of focusing on housing with care.
- 2020
Cornwall extra-care partnership agreed
[1]Cornwall Council selected Mears as lead strategic partner for a seven-year programme involving 750 extra-care housing units.
- 2019
Glasgow asylum-accommodation contract awarded
[1]Mears was announced as the replacement for Serco on a Home Office accommodation contract in Glasgow.
- 2018
Chief executive succession announced
[1]Bob Holt announced his departure from active executive involvement and Kieran Murphy was selected as successor.
- 2015
Care UK's home-care division acquired
[1]Mears purchased the division and subsequently operated it under the Mears Care name.
- 2014
Omega Group acquired
[1]The acquisition added residential lettings and management services connected with the social-housing market.
- 2013
Independent Living Services Scotland acquired and Mears Nurseplus launched
[1]Mears expanded its Scottish independent-living work and introduced a health and complex-care staffing operation.
- 2012
Morrison Facilities Services acquired
[1]The company acquired Morrison Facilities Services from AWG.
- 2011
Home Improvement Services acquired from Anchor
[1]Mears took over more than 20 home-improvement services from Anchor.
- 2008
Moved to the London Stock Exchange main market
[1]Mears transferred from AIM to the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Products and positioning
A large UK public-service contractor focused on social housing, housing-related support and care delivery.
Housing services
Social-housing repairs and maintenance
Mears repairs and maintains homes owned or managed by social landlords across the United Kingdom. The work includes responsive repairs, planned maintenance and improvement programmes delivered under contracts with local authorities and housing associations. This is the group's foundational activity and provides the operational base for related housing-management and resident-support services.
Housing services · 2011
Housing adaptations and improvement
The group delivers home-improvement and adaptation work intended to make properties safer, more accessible or more suitable for residents' changing needs. Its historical expansion included the transfer of more than 20 Home Improvement Services from Anchor in 2011. The service sits between property maintenance and independent-living support.
Property management · 2014
Housing management and residential lettings
Mears provides housing-management and residential-lettings capabilities for social-housing and related markets. The acquisition of Omega Group in 2014 expanded the group's exposure to private-sector lettings and management services associated with social housing.
Care-linked housing
Supported and extra-care housing
Supported and extra-care housing combines accommodation with varying levels of care, assistance or community support. Mears has increasingly emphasized housing with care, including its 2020 strategic partnership with Cornwall Council for 750 extra-care units over seven years.
Social care
Community care
Mears has historically delivered domiciliary, community and independent-living support for older people, disabled people and other vulnerable service users. The group reduced this area during the 2010s and sold its domiciliary-care division to Cera Care in 2020, while retaining a strategic focus on housing-related care.
Health and care staffing · 2013
Mears Nurseplus
Launched in 2013, Mears Nurseplus supplied health and care staffing for adults and children with complex acute or chronic conditions requiring clinical intervention and management. It was later awarded a place on an NHS framework for supplying staff to NHS establishments in Scotland.
Government accommodation · 2019
Asylum accommodation services
Mears provides accommodation and associated services under government contracts for asylum seekers. Its Glasgow Home Office contract began after replacing Serco and became especially prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when accommodation moves and resident-support arrangements generated substantial public and parliamentary criticism.
Controversies
2020
Glasgow asylum-accommodation controversy
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mears moved around 350 asylum seekers from private apartments to six Glasgow hotels. Charities and residents criticized the moves, citing reduced independence, difficulties with social distancing, limited notice and the suspension of daily support payments by the Home Office. The deaths of residents and a subsequent stabbing incident at a Glasgow hotel intensified scrutiny of the accommodation system. A House of Commons committee later recommended that pandemic-era moves should occur only for justified and urgent reasons and after a safe vulnerability assessment.
Marketing campaigns
- 2014Home-care workforce and living-wage advocacy
United Kingdom
Mears and the Local Government Information Unit supported a report by former care minister Paul Burstow calling for home-care workers to receive key-worker recognition and a living wage.
Outcome. The activity contributed to public discussion of employment standards and the status of home-care workers.
- 2011Social Mobility Business Compact
United Kingdom
Mears signed the Social Mobility Business Compact, an initiative associated with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that encouraged employers to provide young people with fairer and more open access to employment opportunities.
Outcome. The group was nominated as a Social Mobility Business Compact Champion.
Brand decisions
2020
Sell domiciliary-care divisionStrategyBackground
Mears announced that it wanted to concentrate on housing with care rather than operate a large standalone domiciliary-care division.
Action taken
The division was sold to Cera Care.
Aftermath
The disposal narrowed the group's care exposure while preserving a focus on care delivered through housing-related models.
2020
Develop extra-care housing in CornwallStrategyBackground
Cornwall Council sought a strategic partner for a multi-year extra-care housing programme.
Action taken
Mears was appointed lead strategic partner under a seven-year agreement covering 750 extra-care housing units.
Aftermath
The appointment reinforced Mears's positioning in housing with care and supported-living development.
Programme value. £150 million (Seven-year agreement announced in 2020)
2016
Withdraw from financially unsustainable local-authority care contractsStrategyBackground
Mears stated that some local-authority payments were insufficient to cover the cost of providing care.
Action taken
The group announced that it would pull out of selected contracts.
Aftermath
The decision preceded a reduction in the scale of the care business and a stronger strategic emphasis on housing.
2015
Acquire Care UK's home-care divisionM&ABackground
Mears wanted to enlarge its home-care and community-care operations.
Action taken
Mears purchased the division for £11.3 million and renamed it Mears Care.
Aftermath
The acquired operation served approximately 13,000 people and substantially increased the group's care footprint.
Acquisition price. £11.3 million (2015 acquisition)
2013
Launch Mears NurseplusProduct launchBackground
Mears was expanding from social care into health-related and clinically supported services.
Action taken
The group launched Mears Nurseplus after acquiring Independent Living Services Scotland.
Aftermath
Nurseplus enabled the company to offer staffing and support for service users with complex health conditions.
2012
Acquire Morrison Facilities ServicesM&ABackground
Mears continued an acquisition strategy centered on facilities management and housing services.
Action taken
The company acquired Morrison Facilities Services from AWG.
Aftermath
The purchase broadened the group's facilities-management platform.
2011
Acquire Home Improvement Services from AnchorM&ABackground
Mears sought to expand its social-housing repair and improvement capability.
Action taken
The group took over more than 20 Home Improvement Services from Anchor.
Aftermath
The transaction increased Mears's presence in housing-improvement work.
Sources2 sources
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