Sky News has learnt that The Hesley Group, which operates seven residential care homes and supported living settings, is to be taken over by Blandford Capital, a mid-market private equity investor.

The business is being sold by Antin Infrastructure Partners, a large French investment firm, after a controversial period of ownership in which Hesley was found by an official report to have inflicted "significant abuse, neglect and harm" on some of the disabled young people in its care.

Hesley now provides care only to adults, having had two sites closed in 2021 after the emergence of horrific abuse.

Ofsted, the education watchdog, had suspended the operation of the residential sites, with Hesley's board subsequently opting to close them altogether.

Another site - Ivy lane School in Wakefield, west Yorkshire - which provides specialist care for children with autism and other learning difficulties, was sold earlier this year to Aurora, another player in the sector.

The sale and closures left Hesley as an adult care home operator, while it also retains a specialist college offering education for students aged between 18 and 25.

In total, Hesley is responsible for the care of 150 adults across south Yorkshire.

It employs approximately 1,200 people.

Blandford Capital already has a presence in the UK healthcare sector, and focuses on providing financial and operational support to management teams.

"We are pleased to bring our expertise to support the growth of Hesley Group," Neville Kahn, a founding partner at Blandford, said.

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"We are looking forward to working with the management at Hesley, which is a leading provider of specialist care and education for adults with complex needs."

The transaction is said to have taken place on a solvent basis, although Antin is understood to have taken a substantial writedown on its investment.

Antin, which took control of Hesley in 2018, previously declined to comment on the sale process.