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Todays Webinar on the results was very interesting. Not difficult to see why P/E and others would be very interested in SPI.

Aside from the property portfolio which underpines any deal , the operating business offers plenty of scope for revenue enhancement (AI, already 17 AI robots preforming procedures) and costs savings which are already well underway and again AI driven.

Given that SPI was effectively put up for sale, there must have been contact between suitors and major shareholders probably back in Sept 2025 on price levels. Given the PUSU extension I would view this as very positive or they would have walked back in February.

Its just margin traders getting crushed across their portfolios and having to sell. Look at the trade sizes going through - its a bit of a giveaway.

Fortunately the war will had little or no bearing ion this deal.

Why do people with no position in a stock enjoy watching it decline and making this known to others? Worrying.

Drawing comparisons between SPI with Royal Mail International Division and Oxford Biomedica does not reflect favourably on those making such posts.

Everyone is fully aware that a bid may or maynot happen, hence the SP action within the current range and not helped by the fact there is a float which is less than 5% taking into account insitutions (88%) and long term retail investors. The SP action is within a small range - I would think CFD and day traders being the main participants.

As for the constant claims that the market is telling us both the bid price level or that no bid is coming that is absolute nonsense. I would say that 90% plus of holders sitting tight shows where their expectations lie. Bidders will be fully aware of the minimum price necessary via discussions with major shareholders, otherwise the the entire process will have been a complete waste of time and money for all parties .

If reports are correct that there are multiple interested parties, and we have no way of knowing, I don't expect fireworks, or a damp squid, to happen until a bid is tabled under the code.

If P/E wants to aquire SPI as do other potential bidders they are highly competitive animals when it comes to getting what they want.

Continued negogiations/ due diligence is one reason for a PUSU extension but so is the emergence of another bidder (s).This does fit with the decision to set a deadline for expressions of interest to flush out all interested parties without setting the PUSU clock ticking.

We really have no idea what (if any other) entities are still seriously looking to bid for Spire.

I think you are reading things into my comments which I believe were crystal clear. My point was that I find it odd, unprofessional and unusual especially during such a sensitive period for a major shareholder to announce that the two largest shareholders were willing sellers and that expectations of a £3.25 bid might need to adjusted downwards to £3. Hence my conclusion, which maynot be correct, was that Harwood must have there own agenda for doing this. Its just a view.

Of course all shareholders are willling sellers at the right price.

Surely discusssion and expressions of opinion based upon publicly available information is the true purpose of this platform. Those that wish to peddle nonsense and massage their own ego's will always be present but its not too tricky to weed them out and ignore.

Ok - Harwood owns 2.6 % directly and teh balnce up to 5% through other connected investment vehicles. Edeclinics is still showing as holding 29.7 8% - maybe not all shares carry voting interests ?

No eveidence to suggest the Board has been browbeated by Harwood. They may well have enrolled other major shareholders to rerquest a strategic review but I have never said that teh other shareholders were not intereted in a strategice review. I think they are all big boys and all quite capable of letting their feelings known to the Board.

I still find it odd that 5% holder would publicly propose in a podcast adjusting expectations down from £3.25 to £3 to get a deal down and in the process expressing their view that Mediclinics and Toscafund were willing sellers. Exclusive information, surely you mean public information . I am not privy to any exclusive information, not even the IRR being used by P/E !

£1.80 - its a wind up - ignore

Mediclinics owns 29.78% staying just below 30% threshhold.

It seems that the source that they are sellers is Harwood Capital on a podcast ! Harwood own 2.6% but I am not sure just how relaible their views are and don't expect Mediclinics would appreciate Harwood broadcasting that they are willing sellers. Harwood has its own agends.

88% owned by insitutions

Up the Jungle !- my lights have just fused reading the nonsense posted on here by the soothsayers

I see bonzo and his side kick are back at work. Wonder what the IRR that he knows P/E is adopting is - then again I don't !

One of them even believes the major shareholders will be exercised do a deal at £2.50 if the share price falls back to £1.75 ! Surely this must be a wind up.

One of them thinks a CFD squeeze amd MM working the mkt means the chance of a deal has fallen to 15% - this stuff is hilarious.

I would rather focus on a hugely undervalued property portfolio, £270 m of EBITDA, political change, economic cycle, AI, increasing demand as everyone lives longer and massive barriers to entry.

Expecting a pick up in NHS when new funding year begins

Turning to the U.K. region on Slide 14. Both businesses operating in challenging conditions. The U.K. acute hospital business was impacted by NHS budgetary restrictions towards the end of the period. This was mitigated by a focus on high acuity and private work as well as operational initiatives.

Elysium continues to face weak market demand from local authorities. The turnaround plan is underway and beginning to gain traction, including central cost reduction, agency reductions, site optimization and fee negotiation.

Turning to the acute hospital business results on Slide 15. The business delivered 3.5% revenue growth in constant currency, driven by a higher acuity case mix, increased private pay admissions and tariff indexation. NHS admissions slowed and declined in quarter 2 as NHS budgetary constraints began to impact activity.

Our continued focus on managing complexity and consistent operational excellence helped to mitigate the impact of lower NHS volumes. The result included backdated indexation. Excluding this impact, underlying EBIT margins improved 30 basis points to 9.3%.

Turning to the outlook for the acute business on Slide 16. NHS activity outlook for the third quarter financial year '26 is expected to remain negative compared to the prior period. The U.K. hospital business will continue to focus on growing private volumes and driving operational excellence to help offset the NHS funding uncertainty, which we expect to prevail until the new NHS fiscal year.

As the leading private provider to the NHS, Ramsay U.K. remains well positioned to support the U.K. government's objective to reduce elective surgery, outpatient and diagnostic waitlist when additional funding is anticipated to be made available in the new NHS fiscal year from the 1st of April with a strong pipeline of patients through its outpatient clinics.

Best guess is still a 270-280p deal. IRRs don't work for more than that for PE. - whilst you might be a leveraged buyout expert - please do grow up.

P/E is currently awash with cash so your LBO expertise maynot even be needed

Https://www.ft.com/content/e2b8a9b5-1847-4498-ab5a-03f0e9fff8dd

PublishedJAN 26 2026

UpdatedJAN 26 2026, 17:08

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Spire Healthcare said it was in talks with investors including buyout firms Bridgepoint and Triton about a potential takeover deal for the UK’s largest private hospital group, sending its shares up almost 20 per cent.

London-listed Spire on Monday confirmed the discussions following reports over the weekend that a number of investors had expressed interest in buying it. The group runs 38 hospitals and more than 50 clinics, medical centres and consulting rooms across the UK for private and NHS patients.

Spire said the two UK-based private equity groups “are among the parties in discussions with the company in the context of the strategic review announced on September 18 2025. These discussions remain at a preliminary stage”. Bridgepoint and Triton declined to comment.

The FTSE 250 company’s shares jumped 18 per cent on Monday to close at £2.10 a share.

The deadline for the potential buyers to confirm a firm intention to acquire Spire was February 21, but this could be extended, the company said. 

In September, the FT reported that Spire had appointed Rothschild to advise on a potential sale after pressure from shareholders including hedge fund Toscafund and investment manager Harwood Capital.

The shareholders, eager to bank a profit after a recent turnaround, urged the company to target a sale price of at least £3.40 a share, which would value the group at more than £1.4bn. 

Spire’s current share price sits below that of a previous offer in 2021 of £2.50 per share from Australia-listed Ramsay Health Care, which the company rejected.

Spire, alongside rival healthcare providers, has benefited from longer NHS waiting lists, which have pushed more patients to seek private care, making the sector more appealing to potential investors. The company’s partnership with the UK’s health service generates about 30 per cent of its revenue.

However, in December Spire warned that a slowdown in NHS commissioning activity would dent profits, saying full-year earnings for 2025 would be at the lower end of its £270mn to £285mn range. It said it expected further uncertainty around NHS work this year.

“We anticipate NHS volumes to be a material uncertainty across the sector, particularly in Q1,” Spire said in a trading statement last month, adding that the health service’s proposed

Thanks for passing on the knowledge about bid/ask prices. I tend to adopt a more pragmatic and common sense approach.

I also thought you had watched the podcast - given that Harwood said sellers might have to reduce expectations from £3.25 to £3, a bid of £2.80 is a waste of everyone's time and the potential bidders will be fully aware of what might be acceptable to the major shareholders.

You also seem to think that the main shreholders will lie on their backs with their legs wide open.

I don't have time for anylysis on the debt covenants, irrelevant anyway but since you like this sort of detail perhaps you might like to educate others that populate this board.

Harwood stated in a podcast that sellers might have to adjust expectations down from £3.25 to £3 to a get deal down. Do check my maths but isnt £3 greater than the £2.70 and £2.8 you have advanced whilst at the same time referring to the Harwood podcast.As far as I am aware Harwood owns circa 5% and does represent the other major shareholders. In any event maybe it was just a tactical ploy - odd that a shareholder would publicly disclose what they would accept so I would take it with a pinch of salt.

Wrong also on the special dividend - it could be much higher without breaking any covenants but I guess you are the expert of the debt/creditor covenants in place.

Your guesses are way too light and do not seem to be based upon anything tangible. A company S/L would provide funds for a special dividend far greater than £1.

P/E will have sounded out the major shareholders and there is no way they would even consider an offer sub £3. They may wish to sell but they are not going to give away their shares with so much unlocked value in the property portfolio not to mention of circa £250 m of EBITDA which P/E are very good at improving.

Blue Owl Property was reported as looking to buy 12 properties currently run by SPI under operating leases for circa £1.3 b.

Based upon typical EV / EBITDA ratios adopted by P/E SPI should command a price north of £4.

I am quite wide awake thanks. Your posts suggest some kind of clandestine talks going on behing the scenes between SPI's advisers and the interested acquirers. That is not the case, potential rival bidders are highly motrivated and highly competitive animals. Indeed you point to these clandestine talks in support of your belief that parties have walked away as somehow they already know what other bidders are likely to bid - your phrase "too rich a price to start negogiations".

"the reason it’s taken time is there are more than one party - so the ball is being batted between them " - well thats what you said, so back track if you like but I think your words are clear as to your intended meaning.

Lastly, just to let you know, the company has not informed the market that tehre are more than two bidders, the company has simply informed the market that there are more than two interested parties - quite different to your portrayal. Might I suggest one reason for the muted share price action to date in addition to the tightly held shares..

On the advisers (Rothschilds) - let me explain. SPI advisers are their to advise the Board of SPI of their options, they do not enter into detailed discussions with the interested parties./bidders. The Board will open up the books of SPI to interested parties for due diligence and respond to questions (under the guidance of their own advisers if necessary)

The bidders will also very likely have their own specialist industry specific advisers.

I think you are very confused how all this works in the real world.

keep digging your hole because it is getting bigger and bigger.

rival bidders deliver their bids to the board of spi not to one another.

if that were only so how easy would life be ! you simply ask me how much i am bidding and i say £10 big ones a share and you walk away because its too rich for you ! are you actually being serious or are is it just a wind up.

they will only walk if the numbers don't meet their return targets and their financial models. they will have a bottom of the range price and a top of the range price and hence the price action will only begin once a bid is tabled.

there is abo****ely no way of kowing how many potential bidders are still in the frame - to claim otherwise is just dumb.

Another nonsense post - shares are held 88% by insitutions and no sign of them selling down. Of the remaining 12% I would guess over half are being held by retail investors waiting for this to unfold. So really there is only the CFD and smalltime retail day traders playing in this market. Volumes are pretty ordinary.

The real SP action will begin once a bid is announced which is normal. If one is to believe the company announcemen, and I see no reason not to, in which it stated that Bridgepoint and Triton are "amongst the parties" in discussions with the company. P/E and institutions don't waste time or money without the intention to make the acquisition.