Ruth French and Sanjay Dhrona both built care businesses they never set out to run. Both sold. This episode is about how that decision gets made, what the process does to you, and what is left afterwards.
Ruth spent ten years as a civil servant before coming into care on a rescue mission. With her brother Roger Catchpole she grew Stow Healthcare from one home to eight, specialising in turning around failing services. Four were rated outstanding by the time they sold, after a process that took three years.
Sanjay was a party planner, running large scale events for banks, law firms and the royal family, before joining his family’s care home in Oxfordshire in 2015 for what he thought would be a three month project. He stayed ten years, achieved outstanding in all five areas twice in a row, and sold in under six months after a conversation at an event.
In this episode: how they each knew it was time, what the acquirer’s due diligence actually asks for, keeping a sale secret from colleagues who had become friends, telling the teams, founder dependency and how to design yourself out, and what life after exit really looks like.
Ruth is now director of French & Co Care Consulting and sits on the board of the Outstanding Society. Sanjay also sits on the Outstanding Society board, founded the Outstanding Diversity Forum, and is an affiliate of Green Templeton College, Oxford.
Hosted by Tobi Alli-Usman, founder of Prosperwell. Recorded August 2026.
Podcast Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by the Care Growth Index, the UK’s largest sales and marketing study of the private-pay care sector. Built from over 100 operators, 400+ homes and 21,000+ beds, it shows what the high performers are doing differently to drive enquiries and fill beds. Get your free copy at prosperwell.co.uk.
Tea with Tobi is part of the Care Growth Ecosystem, Prosperwell’s home for research, events and conversations for leaders growing care organisations.
