Centric Health, the largest player in the Irish primary healthcare market, has agreed a deal that will see it acquired by a US affiliate of Bon Secours Mercy Health, Healthspan Partners.
Founded in Ireland in 2003 by Dr Maurice Cox and Dr Ray Power, with just one practice in Phibsborough, north Dublin, in 2004, it has since expanded and now operates out of 90 locations across the State, with services provided by 420 GPs to more than 700,000 patients.
It established the VHI SwiftCare clinics in 2005 in a joint venture with VHI before those clinics were bought outright by the insurer in 2017.
Since 2018, the business has been owned by Five Arrows, the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co. Dr Cox retains a minority stake.
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No price has been disclosed by either side in the transaction but industry sources said Healthspan would have paid in the region of €350 million for the fast-growing Irish business.
The deal is subject to approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and other relevant regulatory authorities.
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Bon Secours already runs a number of hospitals in Ireland in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Tralee, Co Kerry.
Centric expanded into the Netherlands, where it now has 11 practices, in 2020 and Germany the following year. There are 23 clinics in Germany. However, Ireland continues to account for the vast majority of its business.
In the most recent accounts available, Centric had private client turnover of €76.2 million in 2024, plus another €67.6 million in medical card business, for a total of €143.9 million, up 13.5 per cent on the previous year. Of that, 80 per cent was generated in the Irish market.
Cox will remain chief executive of the business under the new owners and a shareholder in the business.
“We have significant ambitions for the future and have been looking for the right partner to help us achieve our goals,” he said.
“Healthspan Partners is the perfect partner as it brings expertise and insight, global networks and reach as well as the necessary financial support to help us achieve our ambitious growth plans.
“We see real opportunities to expand our network, both geographically and through digital innovation. As we continue to grow, we will keep investing to make sure the relationship between doctor and patient stays personal and local, because that is the model that best serves our patients.”
GPs and primary care practices in the Centric Health network will continue to operate under the Centric Health brand, “with full operational and clinical independence”, the company said. Many of the GPs operate under a profit share arrangement with Centric.
“Patients will not experience any change as a result of this investment and do not need to take any action,” the company said in a statement.
Centric Health said the acquisition would support its “ambitious growth strategy in Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, enabling it to drive further innovation within the company while continuing to evolve and grow the range of clinical services that are delivered to its patients from its extensive GP network”.
“It will also help it to further its research work and programmes in population health which have the potential to positively impact future healthcare policy and planning in the countries where it operates.”
