Shares in Spire Healthcare soared to the top of the FTSE 250 on Wednesday after the company's board signaled it would support a £1 billion takeover bid from its second-largest existing investor, private equity firm Toscafund.
Bid Details and Premium
Toscafund offered 250p per share, representing a hefty 66% premium over Wednesday's closing price of 150.4p. This was enough to secure the board's approval after previous offers had fallen short. The stock surged 45% to 218p, approaching the offer price.
Spire stated that discussions were "currently at a relatively early stage," but its board "would be minded to recommend unanimously… the possible offer" to shareholders at the 250p price.
Company Overview
Spire Healthcare operates 38 hospitals and over 60 clinics across England and Wales. Last year, it treated 1.4 million patients and is the leading private provider of knee and hip operations by volume. The company also runs workplace health services for 1,400 employers.
Demand for private healthcare has been rising in the UK as the National Health Service struggles to reduce long waiting lists. Spire also runs NHS partnerships, which generate a significant portion of its revenue.
Trading Update and Financial Performance
In a separate trading update, Spire said NHS revenue was "as expected," while "private patient revenue has continued to grow strongly, particularly self-pay." For 2025, the company reported annual revenue of £1.6 billion, up 4.5%, but profit before tax fell by over 50% to £18.6 million. Spire described the year as one of "transformation as we lowered our cost of delivery and centralised administration into our patient support centres."
Background and Regulatory Timeline
Toscafund is a London-based investment fund known for taking TalkTalk telecoms private in late 2020 alongside Penta Capital. Earlier this year, Spire was in talks with private equity firms Bridgepoint and Triton, but no deal materialized. Under City rules, Toscafund has until 5pm on June 11 to make a firm offer or walk away for six months.
Spire previously rejected a 250p per share bid from Ramsay Healthcare of Australia in 2021. City experts now anticipate the possibility of higher bids. Miles Dixon at Peel Hunt commented: "We see value in excess of 250p at Spire – the UK landscape only moving in one direction for private care – and [it is] a business that is fundamentally improved from when we began coverage back in 2017. However, we are mindful of the parties involved and of fatigue around offers… from the second-largest holder, we would not be surprised to see this deal go through."
