EPF weighs RM8b sale of UK private hospitals
MALAYSIA'S Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is preparing to sell a portfolio of UK private hospitals that are valued at about £1.4 billion (RM8.03 billion).
The fund has appointed broker Knight Frank to offer the 12 properties for sale, people with knowledge of the process said. The hospitals, which an EPF-led consortium bought for about £700 million in 2013, are operated by Spire Healthcare Group plc, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private.
Representatives for EPF and Knight Frank declined to comment. Healthcare property has seen a flurry of interest this year as investors seek out alternative assets with long-term indexed-linked leases.
KKR & Co is vying with Primary Health Properties plc to buy Assura plc, a UK landlord that mostly owns doctor surgeries as well as a portfolio of private hospitals that it bought for £500 million last year.
Aedifica SA agreed on June 3 to buy rival Cofinimmo in a deal that creates a healthcare REIT with a combined gross asset value of more than €12 billion (RM58.04 billion).
The use of private healthcare in the UK has grown as the country's National Health Service (NHS) struggles to bring down waiting lists that were swollen during the pandemic. A record 4.7 million had private health insurance through their employer in 2023, according to data compiled by the Association of British Insurers last year.
The NHS also uses private hospitals to carry out procedures. The state-backed healthcare provider spent £2.1 billion in private hospitals last year, according to a report by LaingBuisson. It spent a further £1.5 billion at private clinics.
The UK government announced earlier this year that the NHS would use private healthcare to carry out additional appointments, scans and operations in order to reduce waiting times. — Bloomberg
This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition
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