The Priory Group is changing hands, following a protracted sales process that lasted longer than a typical celebrity stay at its world-famous rehab clinic.
The Royal Bank of Scotland announced this morning that it has agreed to sell the Priory Group to private equity firm Advent International. The deal values the business at £925m, although the partially-nationalised bank will only receive around £133m in cash once debt has been repaid.
The Priory Group is best known for its hospital in south-west London, which has taken in a string of troubled celebrities over the years – from George Best and Paul Gascoigne to Susan Boyle and Eric Clapton. The company also runs more than 50 hospitals, schools and care homes across the UK.
RBS said the sale was the latest phase in its strategic plan to divest itself of around £250bn of non-core assets.
RBS acquired the Priory Group when it completed the disastrous takeover of ABN Amro in 2007. A year ago, RBS hoped to raise around £1bn by floating the business on the stock market. However this plan was shelved in May last year because of turbulence in the financial markets which also scuppered several other potential floats. Last autumn, RBS came close to agreeing a sale with another US private equity firm, Bain Capital, but the two sides reportedly struggled to agree a price.
