We are delighted to welcome Ashley McCarthy as the new franchise owner of Apollo Care Cheltenham and Cotswold's. Ashley brings a unique blend of passion, dedication, and life experience that makes her a perfect fit for the Apollo family.

"My passion is horses and I have never known a time that they weren't in my life, in some capacity. My husband and I have had some great successes, breeding horses and training riders, over the years. I never thought anything could take me away from horses until my husband’s parents became sick, around the time of Covid. We had a lot of ups and downs with domiciliary care companies, where it was patently obvious that figures were more important than the clients. My in-laws eventually went into a care home together to live out the remainder of their lives."

Ashley’s experience caring for her in-laws left a lasting impression, shaping her vision for the kind of care she wanted to provide. "But through everything, the care my in-laws received in the early days always stuck with us. With this, a desire to take on a new enterprise began to form, and we decided we wanted to make a difference and create a business in domiciliary care. The drawback? Neither of us had the relevant experience in the care sector. My husband always had successful businesses in retail, so we felt that a franchise would be our best option."

After careful research and consideration, Ashley and her husband chose Apollo Care. "We needed to find a franchise which shared our core values – a company which put people before pounds. After much deliberation and research, we decided to work with Apollo. From our first meeting with Cheryl, Dawn and Owen, we knew immediately, these were our people."

Ashley’s goal is clear: to create a care company that prioritises both clients and staff. "Our goal is to work alongside Apollo to create the best care company in the UK, not only for the clients but the carers too. My goal is to give the opportunity for my carers and staff to see their role as a vocation, not a stop gap. Centring on our clients, during the most vulnerable points of their lives. I want to create a team honoured to be with clients, to be ambitious, to want to come into work every day, knowing I have their back and Apollo has mine."

For Ashley, the most exciting aspect is building something meaningful from the ground up, within a proven framework that truly cares about people. "The most exciting thing of all; to strategise something from scratch, within a proven, caring framework, with people who actually care about people – our actions, our clients, our staff."

We are thrilled to have Ashley and her team on board and look forward to seeing the positive impact they will make in Apollo Care Cheltenham and the Cotswolds.