Twenty-two hospitals and care homes have been sold by Castlebeck, the Irish-owned group that was sharply criticised after patients were physically abused by staff, who were later jailed.
The operations in north Wales and Merseyside – none of which was implicated in the abuse allegations – have been sold back to former owner, Michael Adey-Jones.Castlebeck paid £50 million for the business five years ago; neither it nor Mr Adey-Jones was last night putting a value on the latest deal.
The sale was approved by new management brought in after the allegations of abuse at the Winterbourne View hospital in Bristol were revealed by BBC Panorama.
The businesses, which have operated as a separate division within Castlebeck, are “outside the company’s geographical and operational core”, it said last night
Castlebeck was bought in 2005 by Lydian Capital, a Swiss-based company set up by former Kerry Group chief executive Denis Brosnan.
He later attracted wealthy Irish investors, including Dermot Desmond, John Magnier and JP McManus.
