The owner of two nursing homes in Hove has issued a profits warning to its backers.
The warning from Southern Cross, which owns Bon Accord in New Church Road and The Downs in Laburnum Avenue, Hangleton, comes on top of a £47 million loss last year.
There are fears that the company could be placed in administration, giving it temporary protection from its creditors.
The company, Britain’s biggest care home operator, blamed councils for placing fewer elderly people in its homes and for squeezing Southern Cross on fees as spending cuts start to bite.
It also blamed the rising rents that it is having to pay to the landlords who own many of the company’s homes.
Southern Cross’s chairman, Christopher Fisher, has tried to reassure residents and their relatives.
Mr Fisher said that the tough financial climate would not affect the standard of care that would be provided.
