A care company, Catalyst Care Limited, has been prosecuted and fined for operating illegal children's homes, in what Ofsted has described as the first case of its kind. The company's directors pleaded guilty at Croydon Magistrates' Court to failing to register three children's homes and were fined a total of £92,400.
The Croydon-based company operated three homes in Kent from 2022 to 2025, accommodating up to nine children. During this period, the homes received over £1.7 million in payments from local authorities, despite Ofsted reportedly issuing multiple warnings to the directors that they were breaking the law.
Miriam Ekhator and Davidson Lynch-Shyllon, the directors, were disqualified from managing or having a financial interest in a children's home. They were also ordered to pay victim surcharges totalling £2,960 and costs of £17,250.
Ofsted stated that unregistered children's homes operate without oversight, meaning children placed there lack assurance of safe or suitable care. The regulator estimates approximately 900 illegal children's homes are operating in England.