Nabarro, Stephenson Harwood fix appointment for healthcare takeover
Nabarro, Stephenson Harwood and Weil Gotshal & Manges have taken key advisory roles on the sale of healthcare group UK Specialist Hospitals (UKSH) to Care UK.
The deal sees Care UK, one of the UK’s major health and social care service providers, acquire UKSH for a consideration reported to be between £55m and £70m. UKSH provides treatment centres for NHS patients and offers procedures for private patients.
Stephenson Harwood advised UKSH and its main shareholders on the agreement, which completed earlier this month, with the role including advice on the company’s contractual arrangements with the NHS.
The team was led by corporate partner Duncan Stiles, who advised alongside projects partner Rebecca Carter and lead corporate associate Rob Gray.
Nabarro advised Care UK, fielding lead corporate partner Patrick Speller alongside EU and competition partner Cyrus Mehta and associates Philippa Chatterton and Stephanie Murton.
Care UK was also advised in-house by group director of legal services Jonathan Calow.
UKSH’s management - primarily comprising CEO Fiona Calnan and finance director Lorcan O’Murchu - was advised by Weil London managing partner Michael Francies.
Background to this deal:
Stephenson Harwood has previously advised UKSH on matters including a number of its contracts with the NHS. Carter’s involvement with the client started when she was a partner at Eversheds advising UKSH on its contract to establish the Avon, Gloucestershire & Wiltshire independent sector treatment centre, a deal that closed in 2008. The mandate was led by then-partner Alison Staniforth.
Carter then brought UKSH as a client to Stephenson Harwood on joining the firm in August 2011 (11 March 2011).
UKSH - which has no in-house legal team - contacted Carter about the deal without the need for a competition pitch process.
Stiles commented: “Stephenson Harwood has a wealth of experience in the healthcare sector, which this deal certainly adds to. In particular, the knowledge of UKSH’s complex contractual arrangements brought by Rebecca Carter and her team proved to be extremely valuable during the course of the transaction.”
Carter joined Stephenson Harwood alongside projects and infrastructure partner Jonathan Cripps, whose move also gifted the firm clients including the North London Waste Authority (12 March 2012).
Nabarro’s Speller last year advised Care UK on its £48m acquisition of GP out-of-hours provider Harmoni.
