SMALL HOME CARE GROUP/4 BRANCHES
Oliver Stirk
Managing Director, Carefound Home Care
Oliver Stirk is founder and Managing Director of Carefound Home Care, a Harrogate-based provider of hourly and live-in home care with four branches.
BIOGRAPHY
Oliver Stirk is the founder and Managing Director of Carefound Home Care, a home care provider headquartered in Harrogate and a trading name of Carefound Group Limited. It provides hourly visiting care and live-in care for older people through four branches: Harrogate, West Bridgford, Wilmslow and York. Carefound is not a franchise. Home Care Insight reported in 2024 that he had kept full control of the company instead of taking outside investment or franchising it.
Before care, he worked in London. LinkedIn lists a year as an analyst at Jones Lang LaSalle from 2004 and then an associate role at M3 Capital Partners (formerly Macquarie Capital Partners) from 2006 to 2011. He studied French and Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. In a 2022 interview with Home Care Insight he said his finance work involved care homes, retirement housing and assisted living businesses, and showed him a gap in the market for high quality private home care, because most providers then worked under local authority contracts. Companies House lists him as a director of Carefound Home Care (Harrogate) Limited from 24 November 2010; LinkedIn dates the Managing Director role from February 2011.
He is also a director of the separate companies that hold the Wilmslow (from December 2013), West Bridgford (March 2020) and York (July 2022) branches, and of Carefound Group Limited (March 2020). By July 2024, Home Care Insight reported, Carefound had delivered almost one million hours of care and employed more than 290 people. Home Care Insight named him in the Business Executives category of its Power List in 2022 and 2024. Carefound was named a Top 20 Home Care Group by homecare.co.uk for the third year running in June 2024. On 2 December 2025 he received the Princess Royal Training Award on the company's behalf from HRH The Princess Royal at Fishmongers' Hall in London, for Carefound's six-month care professional pathway.
He has commented in public on CQC inspection, on care at home as an alternative to care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic, and on digital working in care. In January 2015 he wrote an article on elderly care options for the Law Society's Private Client Section.
About Carefound Home Care. Carefound Home Care is headquartered in Harrogate and operates branches in Harrogate, West Bridgford, Wilmslow and York. It is owned and managed by Oliver Stirk and states that it is not a franchise or a national company. See its rank and history
CAREER
Newest first, each role linked to its source
MAR 2020 – NOW
Director · Carefound Group Limited NOW
FEB 2011 – NOW
Founder and Managing Director · Carefound Home Care NOW
AUG 2006 – FEB 2011
JUL 2004 – JUL 2005
Analyst · Jones Lang LaSalle
ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS AND APPEARANCES
8 items, opened and checked
Dec 2025
Royal recognition for Carefound Home Care at the Princess Royal Training AwardsAWARDCarefound Home Care
Carefound's account of Oliver Stirk receiving the Princess Royal Training Award in London for the company's care professional pathway.
Jul 2024
POWER LIST 2024: Business ExecutivesAWARDHome Care Insight
Home Care Insight's entry on Oliver Stirk. It describes Carefound's four branches and his decision to keep the company independent of outside investment and franchising.
Jun 2024
Carefound Home Care wins top 20 home care group award for third year runningAWARDCarefound Home Care
Carefound's announcement of its third consecutive homecare.co.uk Top 20 award, with comment from Oliver Stirk.
Oct 2023
What do providers need to know about CQC inspection changes?INTERVIEWCare Home Professional (October 2023 digital issue)
Oliver Stirk gives his view on the CQC single assessment framework alongside Jane Townson of the Homecare Association and Aneurin Brown of Hallmark Care Homes.
Sep 2022
INTERVIEW: How to achieve Outstanding CQC ratingsINTERVIEWHome Care Insight
He describes why he started Carefound, how the branches run with local autonomy and how the company prepared for CQC inspection.
Sep 2022
Oliver Stirk named in home care Power ListAWARDCarefound Home Care
Carefound's announcement of his place in the Home Care Insight Power List 2022, with the publication's citation and his comment.
Apr 2020
Carefound boss highlights value of care at home for elderly during coronavirus pandemicSTATEMENTKnutsford Guardian
He argues that care at home, including live-in care, lowers cross-infection risk compared with care homes.
Jan 2015
Pick of the bunchARTICLEThe Law Society, Private Client Section (Communities)
His article on elderly care options and how private client solicitors can help clients. Only the byline and standfirst are public; the body is members-only.
