Bupa: Provider to refocus on insurance by selling a number of its UK hospitals
Bupa has revealed plans to sell 25 of its UK hospitals to focus more on its insurance business.
The hospitals will be bought by European private equity firm, Cinven, in a deal worth £1.44bn.
Policyholders have been assured that the sale will have no effect on services available to them.
Val Gooding, chief executive of Bupa, said the reason it had previously invested in hospitals was due to insufficient capacity of the right quality for privately-insured patients. "Since then, there has been a significant increase in the number of quality private hospital facilities, with a choice in most localities," she said.
Gooding added that losing the hospitals would be positive. "The separation of our hospitals from the insurance business will allow the two, as separate entities, to fulfil their potential and make a greater contribution to the UK healthcare economy," she said.
