The Doctors in good health thanks to #20 million PTP

Investee Company – The Doctors Healthcare Group

Investee Company Country – UK

Investee Company Business Type – Provides integrated healthcare services

Type of Financing – Public to private management buyout

Equity Providers – Barclays Private Equity

Equity Leader (Individual) – Mark Taylor and Nathan Elstub, Barclays Private Equity

Debt Providers – N/A

Debt Type – N/A

Debt Leader (Individual) – N/A

Equity Amount – N/K

Total Deal Value – £20 million

Other Advisors – PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Pinsent Curtis and Cambridge Consultants

Comments – The Doctors Healthcare Group, including Cytogenetics DNA Services Ltd and William Woodard Associates Ltd, has been bought by its management team in a £20 million public to private transaction backed by Barclays Private Equity.

Barclays investment will enable the Doctors Healthcare management to refinance the business and allow the company to expand and make further acquisitions, both in the UK and overseas.

Based in London and Egham, Surrey, Doctors Healthcare has developed from a diagnostics laboratory business into an integrated healthcare group that employs approximately 250 people. The business provides testing services, laboratory management, laboratory automation hardware and software sales and support and consultancy services. The company was founded in 1988.

Dr Ray Prudo, chief executive officer and chairman of the group said: “The rate of growth we are targeting will require significant additional investment. We are fortunate that Barclays Private Equity already had an excellent knowledge of our business and the sector in which we operate, and we are looking forward to developing the business in partnership with them.”

“The company operates in a niche sector for clients in the clinical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, and is at the forefront of developing public private partnerships (PPP) with the NHS in diagnostic services,” said Mark Taylor, associate director of Barclays Private Equity. “This is a business we have had our eye on for several years and are delighted to be backing such a successful and entrepreneurial management team.”

Public to private transactions are on the increase, according to research produced by the Centre for Management Buy-Out Research. The research, sponsored by Barclays Private Equity and Deloitte and Touche, found the public to private market has grown from seven transactions, worth £0.4 billion, in 1997 to 44 worth £9 billion in 2000. The value of the total buyout market for 2000 is worth £21.5 billion, an increase of over 25 per cent on 1999.

Public to private deals account for almost 44 per cent of the value of the total buyout market in 2000.