The full route from idea to first referral — company, CQC, funding, model — and the faster way in for people who don't want to build it all from scratch.
To start a supported living business in the UK you form a limited company at Companies House, decide your care model and client group, register the regulated activity with the Care Quality Commission, appoint a registered manager, build your policies and care documentation, and secure referral routes with local authorities and integrated care boards. CQC registration is the critical path and usually takes several months. If you would rather skip the formation and document-build stages, you can take over a company that is already registered at Companies House and CQC-ready — and you can verify that company exists yourself before you commit.
That proof matters, so here it is up front. We hold live, named companies you can check on the public register right now:
All are Active on the register and built to CQC standards — registered at Companies House, CQC-ready, not yet CQC registered. The rest of this page walks the genuine how-to-start route, then shows where the ready-made path saves you the most time.
A supported living business is normally run through a private limited company. You incorporate it at Companies House, choose a name that isn't already taken, appoint at least one director, issue shares, and register a UK office address. This is the quickest stage — most companies are incorporated within a day or two — but the name you choose, the brand you build around it, and the digital footprint you create take much longer to make credible to commissioners.
The company is the legal vehicle, not the business. What turns a registered company into a fundable care provider is everything that comes next: the model, the documentation, the registered manager, and the referral relationships.
Supported living is not one thing. You need to decide who you support and how. Common client groups include adults with learning disabilities, adults with mental health needs, people with physical disabilities, and people transitioning out of residential care or hospital. Your model also defines whether you deliver personal care (help with washing, dressing, eating, medication) or housing-and-tenancy support only.
This decision drives everything downstream — your statement of purpose, your CQC registration, your staffing ratios, your insurance, and which commissioners will refer to you. A clear, specific model is far more fundable than a vague "we support vulnerable adults" pitch. Get this right before you spend money on anything else.
If you deliver personal care, you must register the regulated activity with the Care Quality Commission before you can lawfully trade. This is the single longest and most demanding part of starting a supported living business. You submit a statement of purpose, evidence your policies and procedures, and nominate a registered manager who passes the fit-person interview.
CQC registration commonly takes several months from application to decision, and applications are frequently sent back for more information. A complete, well-evidenced application moves faster. This is precisely where a ready-made, CQC-ready company saves the most time: the company, brand and full document set are already built to CQC standards, so you register from a far more advanced starting point rather than from a blank page.
The CQC requires a registered manager who is accountable for the quality and safety of care. This person needs the right qualifications and experience and must pass the fit-person test. For many founders, finding and securing a registered manager is the hardest practical hurdle, and the cost of that role is one of the first wages you'll pay before any referral income arrives.
Around the registered manager you build a team of support workers with safe recruitment, DBS checks, references, and induction training. Your documentation needs to evidence all of this. Workforce is where supported living businesses succeed or fail in their first year.
Most supported living income comes from local authorities and integrated care boards who commission care and pay for placements. To win that income you need to be on the relevant frameworks or approved provider lists, demonstrate quality, and build relationships with commissioners and social workers. Some founders also fund early operations from savings, a business loan, or invoice finance to bridge the gap between paying wages and receiving payment.
Cash flow is the silent killer here: you pay staff weekly or monthly, but commissioner payment terms can run to 30 or 60 days. Your business plan must model that gap honestly. Plan working capital for at least the first three to six months of trading.
A credible supported living business plan pulls all of the above together. At minimum it should cover:
The ready-made route shortens this plan considerably, because the company, brand, website and the full operational document set already exist — you adapt and own them rather than write them from a blank page.
If the months of formation, documentation and brand-building feel like the wrong use of your time, there is a faster way in. You take over a UK company that is already registered at Companies House and CQC-ready — with its name, brand, website and a full operational document set built to CQC standards. You complete CQC registration as the new owner from that advanced position, rather than starting from nothing.
This is not a one-off purchase. It is a staged handover — the cost is spread as you go, never all at once. We walk through the numbers on the call so you can see exactly how it works before committing anything.
And the proof is verifiable. The companies named at the top of this page are real, Active on the public register, and yours to check before you ever speak to us. Explore the routes in:
Browse available ventures or read how it works end to end.
You form a limited company at Companies House, decide your care model and client group, register the regulated activity with the Care Quality Commission, appoint a registered manager, build your policies and care documentation, and secure referral routes with local authorities and integrated care boards. CQC registration is the critical path and typically takes several months. A ready-made alternative is a company already registered at Companies House and CQC-ready, which removes the formation and document-build stages.
Costs vary widely but typically include company formation, the CQC registration fee, professional fees for policies and the statement of purpose, recruitment of a registered manager, insurance, and working capital to cover wages before referral income arrives. Most founders budget several thousand pounds before the first invoice is paid. With the ready-made route the build cost is spread as a staged handover, not paid all at once, and we walk through the numbers on the call.
You need a registered limited company, a clear care model and statement of purpose, a registered manager who meets CQC fit-person requirements, a full set of policies and procedures, suitable accommodation or housing partnerships, public liability and employers' liability insurance, safe recruitment and DBS checks, and referral relationships with commissioners. A ready-made, CQC-ready company arrives with the company and documentation already in place.
If you provide personal care to people in their own homes — help with washing, dressing, eating, or medication — that is a regulated activity and you must register with the Care Quality Commission before you trade. Some supported living that is purely housing and tenancy support, with no personal care, may fall outside CQC registration, but most providers offering personal care must register.
A supported living business plan should cover your care model and client group, your local market and commissioning landscape, your registered manager and staffing plan, your CQC registration pathway, your financial model including funding sources and cash flow, and your quality and safeguarding framework. The ready-made route shortens the plan because the company, brand and documentation already exist.
Starting from scratch, expect several months, mostly driven by CQC registration timelines, recruitment of a registered manager, and building your documentation. The ready-made route compresses this because the company is already registered at Companies House and CQC-ready, so you start from a far more advanced position.
It is a UK limited company already incorporated at Companies House, with a brand, website and a full operational document set built to CQC standards — registered at Companies House, CQC-ready, but not yet CQC registered. You complete the CQC registration as the new owner, which is faster because the groundwork is done.
Take over a company already registered at Companies House and CQC-ready, with a staged handover where the cost is spread as you go — never all at once. We walk through the numbers on the call.
