NMC Health buys Aspen Healthcare to grow its IVF services

NMC Health has completed its first UK acquisition with the £10m capture of Aspen Healthcare as it bids to grow its IVF services.

The United Arab Emirates based private healthcare operator said Aspen’s existing footprint offered a ‘solid foundation’ for its IVF services but said it would not be making other UK purchases outside of the fertility market.

Aspen, which was bought by US healthcare group Tenet Healthcare for around £142m three years ago, has a network of nine facilities across the UK, including four hospitals with three based in Greater London.

As well as being a ‘cost-effective’ means of introducing its fertility services to the UK, NMC said Aspen’s orthopedics and oncology services, which represent half of the operator’s revenue, are ‘highly underserved’ in the UAE.

This offers the potential for patient referral to NMC’s own international facilities when medical treatment is unavailable in the UK, the company said.