Member Info for Kendall12

Market makers want volume - very happy to generate that at these levels for as long as possible before it is moved up and volumes dry up.

This tightly held and the price action reflects this. Look at the average trade size ?

Donald Rumsfeld - whatever next!.

SPI would have been on the radar of P/E (which is awash with undeployed funds) for some time and Mr Ash will have an inside track which might prove helpful to Bridgepoint.

Healthcare private equity reached a record high in global deal value in 2025, powered by large transactions and overcoming a slowdown in the second quarter in both North America and Asia-Pacific. Deal count posted the second-highest annual total on record, with strength across all deal sizes. And provider and biopharma anchored activity while healthcare IT continued to grow its share of healthcare transaction volume.

Our report explores the underlying trends in 2025, including rising investor confidence in market fundamentals in the face of headwinds, the importance of operational sophistication, the return of sponsor-to-sponsor activity, and the growing importance of AI and technology. Looking ahead, investors will need conviction in their value-creation playbooks to deliver outsized returns as competition for assets remains intense.

— Bain’s Healthcare Private Equity Leadership Team

Its only distressed to the extent that (if reports are to be believed) the two main shareholders own over 50% and they are very willing sellers, but of course they are not the only sellers and past bids have been blocked.

References to major shareholder buy in prices are totally irrelavant, that is a sunk cost and nothing can be done to change that.

Justuin Ash's involvement is interesting as he will know all the effeciences / costs savings/ revenue enhancement possibilities and P/E will be much better with execution.

I also think the political landscape will very likely change in the next three years which could also have a major impact on this business.

The replacement cost for the hospitals in the SPI portfolio is also to my mind very releavant and would demand a premium to current market cap for those wishing to enter this market.

Its a pure guess but I see a take out at the £3.75 to £4.50 level so I remain a buyer.

Exactly- Patience has never been the greatest virtue of PI's.

Look, Bridgepoint, Triton et al will have a very clear idea of how much the major shareholders will need to secure a deal. There is little or no point in them continuing and wasting their own money and resources if they feel that price cannot be supported.

There is much speculation on the final bid price, but remember P/E looks predominantly forwards in reaching its valuation. Multiples are then applied to those numbers not historic numbers.

1msn - £350,000 wow, thats serious dosh. Clearly you are not a man of straw unless you telling porkies.

Pure secualtion on my part -

"Advent International and Bain Capital have also contacted Rothschild, which is running the process, although they are not expected to ‍advance further, according to the report." Odd they were singled out for a mention given the claim of multipe unterested parties

Why pull out early ? One reason, and there could be many others, is that the other indicative offers are too rich for them to stay in the game.

The current press speculation is a price tag of £1.5 b - its not £1.5 b less the debt, its £1.5 b plus assumption of all debt and liabilities which is the normal approach.

Current press reports are reporting a £1.5 b price tag. That would equate to circa £3.50 per share (rough guide).

Chaired by Sir Ian Cheshire, the City grandee who has run DIY chain B&Q's parent, Kingfisher, and now also chairs the commercial property group Land Securities, Spire's board is said to be keen to progress discussions with prospective bidders in the coming weeks.

If it progresses, any deal about a takeover of the company is expected to be agreed within the next few months, an insider said this weekend.

A number of other financial investors and overseas trade buyers are also thought to be part of the process, which was initiated amid pressure from major shareholders.

Bridgepoint's interest is particularly intriguing because it was the owner of Oasis Dental Care, a large dentistry chain, during a period it was run by Justin Ash - who is now chief executive of Spire.

Sky News has learnt that private equity firms including Bridgepoint and Triton Partners are exploring bids for Spire Healthcare Group, which runs nearly 40 of the UK's biggest private hospitals.

City sources said the pair were among a broader group of parties which had expressed interest in making offers for the company ahead of a deadline set by its advisers this week.

Advent International and Bain Capital are also said to have made contact with Rothschild, which is running the process, but are not expected to progress further.

Chaired by Sir Ian Cheshire, the City grandee who has run DIY chain B&Q's parent, Kingfisher, and now also chairs the commercial property group Land Securities, Spire's board is said to be keen to progress discussions with prospective bidders in the coming weeks.

Being new to this board I take things at face value - 9th post in six years - so what ?

My read for what its worth, is that the process commenced in Sept 2025 to find a buyer and it continues. The deadline for expressions of interest indicates to me that there are a number of interested parties, hence why set a deadline.

I don't expect any company announcements until such time that a bid is put on the table. Of course what may get leaked to the press is another matter.

So right now quiet = good and patience is a virtue

G G G - AI'ing has its drawbacks and can be very misleading as you know - would however be interested to know which AI platform produced your figure of £1,15 m. Indeed your number is so far away from the accounts figure of £1.4 b and indeed a figure of £1.5 b recently advanced in the Harwood podcast that I wonder if your AI number is net of debt.

I am not speculating on any potential offer price - above my pay grade, but I do feel this business is highly correlated to both the economic cycle (and we are currently staggering along the bottom in the midst of a cost of living crisis) and the political backdrop which I feel is likely change radically in the future - yes I expect a Reform or Tory/Reform coalition government to follow this Labour govt. Cuurent market growth projections in the sector iare moderate at circa 3% p.a. over the next 5 years but I fully expect outperformance over this figure.

In summary. "Demand and revenue have peaked". So pirvate healthcare has peaked and so presumably have treatment prices and new procedures will not evolve.

Better let Nigel Farage know so as not to ruin his plans for healthcare.

Better also let their bankers know that the property valuation is made up !

As for the rest of the diatribe it is just a load of unsunstantiated balony from start to finish as you well know.

He was execting a delgation of interested parties to be present at Spire'smain offices in a line at 8 am this am for the door opening to present their expressions of interestby hand. No wonder he is a tad disappointed !

There is no deadline for initial offers - just the misguided belief and hope of some that an offer would follow the expression of interest reported deadline.

Price action is merely a trnsfer of wealth from pocket-money traders and speculators to investors.

Could not agree more - we are seeing the CFD and spread betters closing, as thier margin monies are erorded. They were betting on a 20th Jan bid announcement in some form or another.

The lack of any news suggest to me everything is very much on track. Potential bidders already in situ 2025 and 20th Jan deadline just clears the way and protects board for Rothschild's to further the process. In this case silience is positive

Very good points shbgetreal.

It seems to me that the deadline set for expressions of interest is a natural part of the process announced by RNS on the 18th September 2025 being handled by Rothschild's.

Would be little or no point in setting such a deadline if there were no interested parties. Any and all potential suitors know all about SPI, its history and the market it is in. Its all about valuation and once that is determined I fully expect a bid for reasons you have set out.

Interesting article despit containing a number of errors of fact.

It also makes the following claim:

"In a takeover process, when the board is actively seeking a sale, the absence of insider accumulation is a notable red flag. It suggests insiders may not be betting their own money on the company's standalone future, even as they push for a higher bid."

I would take the opposite view in that insiders are constricted by insider trading rules. That indicates to me that the process of securing a bid is well underway and the deadline simply clears the decks to move it forwards.

Harwood of course could not have leaked the news as they are shareholders just like you and I, so even if they had become aware of the deadline leaking it would be very dumb.

Maybe you are correct, but for my money very unlikely Harwood would play that game as nothing really to gain from it anyway. Any potential bidders will already be all over SPI, its the UK's 2nd largest Private Healthcare Company and its history vis-a-vis sale of the company is well known - I don't think it needs a leaked Sky News report to wake up potential buyers.

https://www.lse.co.uk/ShareChat.html?ShareTicker=SPI&share=Spire-Healthcare&thread=B7D094BF-FC2B-47B7-8B0E-0238DA935949&reply=true#posting-rules

My gut is that it is to draw out all potential bidders so a period of exclusivity can be granted to pursue a deal with its favoured buyer from the list. That way the Board is also best protected as having done everything to further shareholder best interests

Interesting price action this am - not quite what was expected however, I think the key is establishing why the deadline of expressions of interest was leaked to Sky News.

1. If it was deliberate and emanated from SPI, that would would be a very dumb move if the company was not already in discussion with interested parties. Was it to flush out any other potential interested parties to provide an existing party(S) with an element of protection against the costs of the due diligence process or even to enable exclusivity to be granted.

2. If it was leaked by a potential interested party, again that would seem to be to protect themselves going down the long road to a takeover only for a rival bid arising much later.