Sale of BUPA hospitals

It is taking a long time to finalise, but it is common knowledge within the industry that BUPA will be selling ten of its hospitals to the private equity firm, Legal & General Ventures. These are the ten that BUPA decided did not fit their future low-cost strategy aimed primarily at the NHS market.

Legal & General Ventures have no presence in the private hospital market, but this is not surprising since acquisition by any of the other private hospital chains might well have fallen foul of competition laws; such is the domination of the market by a few large players. Nevertheless, it is interesting that recent acquisitions by Legal & General include Verna Group, the leading supplier of infection control products, and Total Fitness, an operator of 21 health and fitness centres, mainly in the north of England.

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