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

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 takeover follows a lengthy period of negotiation between Spire and Toscafund, which was already the second biggest shareholder in the business.

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.

The deal comes despite concerns about the creeping privatisation of the health service. A study in April found that private companies providing services to the NHS, including healthcare and consultancy, have together made £1.6bn in profit over the past two years.

Spire had previously been in talks with the private equity companies Bridgepoint and Triton, although they fell through when both pulled out in March.

Spire had announced a strategic review last September, telling investors that it was in discussions with several parties to explore a potential sale of the business.

Hughes said in a statement that his fund “has a track record of backing successful healthcare businesses to grow and improve”.

“As a private company, Spire would have the freedom to plan for the long term and the agility to move faster: investing in its hospitals and people, putting the latest technology to work and setting new standards in patient care,” he said.

Debbie White, Spire’s chair designate, said the company, squeezed by rising costs such as national insurance contributions and a higher minimum wage, had faced “much volatility” in its trajectory without a buyer.

“As an experienced healthcare investor and the company’s second largest shareholder, Toscafund has deep knowledge and experience of the business and its operations, and Toscafund has assured the board of Spire that it is committed to providing the highest standards of care to patients,” she said.

Shares in Spire, which is a member of London’s FTSE 250, rose by 3.2% in early trading on Monday to about 246p. The company’s biggest shareholder is Mediclinic, a private healthcare group founded in South Africa.