In this episode of the Care CEO Success Stories podcast, host Adam James of SpringupPR talks with Michael Butcher, Finance Director of Blackadder Corporation Limited, a family-run group of six care homes across the Midlands.
As a chartered accountant and self-described “data geek”, Michael leads the business side of the organisation — overseeing everything from finance and HR to IT and governance — while helping shape the long-term direction of a care group built on family values and a commitment to sustainable care.
Blackadder has been operating for nearly 30 years, beginning with the purchase of its first care home in 1997.
Today, the group provides complex dementia, residential and nursing care across six homes, with 211 beds and around 275 team members.
As a second-generation family business, Michael brings a different perspective to leadership — one that is shaped not by short-term investment cycles or exit strategies, but by what the next generation will inherit and how the organisation can continue serving communities decades from now.
For Michael, that long-term thinking means asking difficult questions now — from workforce shortages and changing demographics to funding pressures and the future structure of social care.
He believes providers need to think far beyond today’s operational challenges and start preparing for what care, employment and commissioning may realistically look like over the next 20, 30 and even 50 years.
At the centre of Michael’s approach is the belief that care is one of the most resilient and important sectors in society — but only if providers are prepared to adapt.
From AI and workforce planning to social care funding and investment models, he shares a thoughtful and candid perspective on the challenges ahead and why care providers need to build with future generations in mind.
In this episode, Michael explains why long-term planning matters in care, what providers should be thinking about now, and the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the sector, including:
- Why family-run providers can think differently. “We don’t think about the next funding round — we think about what the next generation is going to inherit.”
- The importance of planning 10, 20 and 50 years ahead — not just reacting to this year’s challenges.
- Why declining birth rates could become one of the sector’s biggest long-term workforce pressures.
- How demographic change will impact care funding, staffing and service delivery over the coming decades.
- Why recruitment and retention will increasingly depend on becoming an employer people actively want to work for.
- How AI is already supporting care through reviewing care plans and identifying inconsistencies faster than manual review.
- Why technology may replace some roles — but also create new workforce opportunities for care.
- The need to position care as a professional, rewarding long-term career. “No one is ever ‘just’ a carer.”
- How long-term thinking influences investment decisions and allows providers to make decisions others might avoid.
- Why Michael believes the traditional residential care model is changing, with more focus on complexity, specialist care and different models of support.
- The rise of more fragmented support services and why personal assistant-style care could become more common.
- The challenge of social care funding and why the system remains politically difficult to reform.
- Why the majority of society is likely to be touched by care in some form over the next 20 years — as a provider, family member or service user.
- Concerns around future sustainability in the sector and why financial scrutiny of ownership and investment models matters.
- The pressures providers are managing right now — including occupancy recovery, rising employment costs and increasing operational overheads.
- Why Michael remains deeply optimistic about care and its future. “It’s an amazing sector.”
- Why he encourages more people to get involved now: “No two days are the same — and almost every role in care is AI-proof.”