The care home operator Southern Cross has ended weeks of speculation over its future by announcing that it is to close down.

The country's biggest operator of care homes has announced that 250 of its 750 homes are being transferred to landlords who are either run care homes already or have links to firms that do, while the future of the remaining 500 remains unclear with the ongoing threat that they could be sold.

The future of Southern Cross, which has been in the balance since March, was finalised when the landlords all announced that they would leave the group, and, once the handover has been completed, the operator will cease to exist.

Trading in Southern Cross shares has now been suspended; they had been worth £6 as recently as 2007 but are now worth just 6.25p. Chief executive Jamie Buchan said: "My objective, and that of my team, is to continue to provide excellent care to every resident and to manage the programme of transition professionally."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/11/southern-cross-landlords-take-over-all-homes