UK’s biggest private hospital firm Spire agrees £1bn takeover by hedge fund

Подробности

Spire’s hospitals include sites in Southampton, Sheffield and London. Photograph: Spire Healthcare/PA View image in fullscreen Spire’s hospitals include sites in Southampton, Sheffield and London. Photograph: Spire Healthcare/PA Healthcare industry UK’s biggest private hospital firm Spire agrees £1bn takeover by hedge fund Toscafund, founded by City figure known as ‘the Rottweiler’, signs deal amid fears over creeping privatisation of NHS

Prefer the Guardian on Google Britain’s biggest private hospital operator has agreed to a £1bn takeover by a hedge fund manager known as “the Rottweiler” for his aggressive business tactics.

Spire Healthcare, which owns the Claremont hospital in Sheffield and St Anthony’s hospital in south London, has agreed to a 250p a share offer by an investor group led by Toscafund Asset Management, which values the business at £1.03bn.

Toscafund was founded in 2000 by Martin Hughes, a City investor nicknamed “the Rottweiler” for his vocal activist approach.

The company operates 38 private hospitals and more than 60 clinics across England, Wales and Scotland, which together provided care to 1.36 million patients in 2025.