Classic sale by LGV

Classic Hospitals is the UK’s sixth largest private acute hospital operator, running 10 hospitals across the country with a combined total of 370 beds and over 2,000 staff.

The sale by LGV follows an £85m buyout in July 2005. LGV, the private equity arm of assurance group Legal & General, bought nine hospitals from BUPA, adding a tenth, Lourdes Hospital, in 2006.

Classic Hospitals, headquartered in Reading, has invested £23m in updating its existing facilities since the LGV buyout, and revenues have increased by 19% to £94m in the year to December 2007.

Michael O’Donnell, managing director at LGV, said: “The Classic Hospitals investment played to our strengths: taking on a complex and challenging transaction but in a fundamentally attractive sector, and adding value through investing in operational improvements and acquisitions. We are grateful to management and staff for their hard work in helping to achieve this successful outcome.”

The healthcare sector is a frequent target of LGV investment. The firm acquired Craegmoor Healthcare in July 2001, and is a provider of residential care for people with

The healthcare sector is a frequent target of LGV investment, owning Craegmoor Healthcare, a provider of residential care for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour, since July 2001. The firm has also made two further healthcare exits this month – the sale of infection solution company Verna, and the realistion of a 22 month investment in Integrated Dental Holdings, the UK’s largest owner of dental practices.