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Last Updated on 04/11/2026 by Sarah Sarsby
The British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) has welcomed Channel Healthcare Group as a new member. The independent healthcare equipment business specialises in sitting, sleeping, and living solutions, with a focus on making life simpler for healthcare professionals, clients, and their families.
The BHTA recently caught up with Matt Farrar, Commercial Director at Channel Healthcare Group, to learn more about the company’s recent growth, its commitment to providing needs-led equipment solutions, and why becoming a BHTA member is an important step in supporting the wider industry.
Matt joined Channel Healthcare Group to work alongside Shaun McCluskey and the wider team, helping to realise the potential of the business, its people, and its product ranges.
“What really appealed to me was the opportunity to build something different,” Matt explained.
“At Channel Healthcare, we’ve always believed that providing specialist equipment should be about much more than simply selling a product. It’s about understanding people’s individual needs, working collaboratively with healthcare professionals and delivering genuinely positive outcomes, without pressure or unnecessary complexity.”
Over the last 18 months, Matt and the team have focused on simplifying and strengthening the business, from product development and customer support through to engagement with therapists, local authorities, and dealer partners.
This approach has helped the company build stronger relationships, broaden its offering, and become increasingly relevant to the people and organisations it supports.
“We’re incredibly passionate about what we’re building, and whilst the business has evolved significantly, our core values remain the same: honesty, integrity and a genuine desire to make a positive difference to people’s lives,” Matt added.
Channel Healthcare Group brings together Channel Healthcare, Tri-Chair, and Spaces Enabled, offering solutions ranging from bespoke, made-to-measure riser recliners and specialist modular seating to sleep systems and home adaptations.
The business works closely with occupational therapists, physiotherapists, local authorities, NHS services, dealer partners, and private clients to identify appropriate equipment solutions.
Recent developments include expanding the team to provide more hands-on support across the UK and a complete overhaul of its specialist Tri-Chair seating range.
Now manufactured in the UK, the latest generation of Tri-Chair products has been completely overhauled, with a focus on providing accessible, competitively priced specialist seating solutions.
Another significant development has been the introduction of the Channel Healthcare Clinical Panel, comprising five independent, experienced therapists who challenge the company’s thinking, influence product development, and help shape training, service, and wider business strategy.
“It’s an important part of ensuring that clinical insight genuinely influences the decisions we make as a business,” Matt highlighted.
“Ultimately, we’re not trying to be the biggest business in the sector. We want to be one of the most trusted, approachable and dependable partners for the people who rely on us.”
Channel Healthcare believes that the wide variety of products, features, and approaches available within the specialist seating market can sometimes feel overwhelming for clients, families, and clinicians trying to identify the most appropriate solution for an individual’s needs.
“One of our biggest focuses has therefore been on simplification,” Matt commented.
“We’ve worked hard to develop a modular, highly adjustable seating range that can accommodate a broad spectrum of clinical needs, without unnecessary complexity.”
This approach is central to the company’s latest generation of Tri-Chair products, which combine modularity, adjustability, comfort, and clinical functionality. By accommodating a wide range of needs through fewer core products, Channel Healthcare aims to make the assessment, prescription, and ongoing adjustment process more straightforward for healthcare professionals, while ensuring clients receive appropriate seating solutions.
The company’s recent growth has also presented operational challenges. Following the launch of its refreshed brand and latest Tri-Chair products, demand has increased significantly.
Channel Healthcare has responded by investing further in its manufacturing infrastructure, including an additional upholstery facility that provides the capacity to double its current output, with scope to scale further as demand grows.
This investment is intended to help maintain the company’s target 48-hour lead times and improve stock availability for local authorities and dealer partners placing larger orders.
As Channel Healthcare has developed, the team has become increasingly conscious of the importance of contributing to the wider healthcare equipment industry.
“The BHTA has long been a recognised and influential organisation within our industry, playing an important role in bringing businesses together, championing best practice and challenging the sector to continually improve,” Matt said.
“For us, joining the BHTA was a natural step in that journey.”
A key attraction of membership is the opportunity to connect with like-minded manufacturers, suppliers, and dealers who share an ambition to improve products, services, and outcomes across the healthcare and assistive technology sector.
Matt believes collaboration, shared experience, and constructive challenge can help businesses improve, while membership also provides an opportunity to strengthen the voice of independent firms on issues such as product awareness, education, and procurement.
“Being part of a respected, collective organisation gives us the opportunity to contribute to those conversations and have a stronger voice than we could achieve independently,” he explained.
Independent scrutiny, accountability, and trust are equally important considerations. Alongside its existing Which? Trusted Trader status, Channel Healthcare views BHTA membership as another demonstration of its commitment to professionalism, transparency, and responsible business practices.
“We don’t see these things as badges to simply put on a website. We see them as commitments that should continually challenge us to maintain and improve our standards,” Matt emphasised.
Looking ahead, Matt hopes the BHTA will continue championing education, promoting transparency, encouraging greater collaboration between manufacturers and healthcare professionals, and helping clinicians and clients navigate an increasingly complex equipment market.
“Ultimately, we joined because we want to be part of something bigger than our own business. We want to learn from others, share our own experiences, contribute where we can and help raise standards across the sector.”
Channel Healthcare is preparing to launch its new Sitting, Sleeping and Living proposition, extending its established expertise in specialist seating into complementary equipment and services.
Rather than attempting to become a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’, the company plans to partner with experts in their respective fields, bringing together carefully selected products and services to provide a trusted, knowledgeable point of contact for a wider range of needs.
“Our ambition isn’t simply to offer more products. It’s to make accessing the right support simpler, more joined-up and more dependable,” Matt explained.
Further developments to the Tri-Chair range and new partnerships are also planned, alongside continued investment in people, manufacturing capabilities, and relationships with healthcare professionals through exhibitions, training, and the company’s Pizza & Posture sessions.
The Clinical Panel will play an increasingly important role as the business moves into 2027, challenging the company’s thinking and helping shape product innovation, training, and support for clinicians and clients.
Channel Healthcare has been shortlisted for the Retailer of the Year category at the British Healthcare Trades Industry Awards 2026, taking place on 3 December at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.
The awards celebrate innovation, impact, and excellence across the healthcare and assistive technology sector, recognising the achievements and contributions of businesses and individuals working in the industry.
For Matt, the shortlisting recognises the hard work, commitment, and passion of the team, alongside the improvements made to Channel Healthcare’s products, services, and support for clinicians, clients, and wider partners over the past 18 months.
“Regardless of the outcome, simply being shortlisted is something we’re immensely proud of, and we’re really looking forward to the awards evening as an opportunity to celebrate, reconnect with industry peers and meet other businesses doing great things across the sector,” Matt enthused.
The team is also looking forward to BHTA Retailers’ Day 2027, taking place on 23 February in Solihull, which provides an opportunity to share experiences, understand industry challenges and opportunities, and explore how it can contribute more actively to the association.
“For us, it’s about much more than attending events. It’s about building meaningful relationships, learning from others and being an active part of an industry we’re genuinely passionate about,” Matt concluded.
To find out more about how the BHTA can support your business and how to become a BHTA member, visit this page.