UK Edition
Harley Street nip-and-tuck duo unveil £70m enhancement
A Harley Street nip-and-tuck clinic to the stars has bought a non-surgical skin specialist in a £70m deal that claims to form Europe’s biggest dedicated cosmetic surgery chain.
The Private Clinic Group, which is based in Marylebone and has 12 branches across the UK, will combine its operations with the Cosmetic Skin Clinic.
Mid-market private equity firm Bluegem, whose investments also include department store Liberty London and Jack Wills, bought the Private Clinic in 2008 and has overseen a more than fourfold increase in the company’s top line.
It claims to have “gained a following among VIPs”, priding itself in delivering “a five-star experience and absolute confidentiality”.
Chief executive Valentina Petrone said that while the merger with the Cosmetic Skin Clinic put the pair in a market-leading position, the cosmetic surgery sector remains “fragmented”, providing the group with an opportunity. “Ideally we will do more similar acquisitions,” she said.
The Cosmetic Skin Clinic, which specialises in non-invasive treatments, has had a Harley Street surgery for almost two decades. The Private Clinic Group treats more than 15,000 patients a year and performs about 10,000 procedures annually.
The combined companies will generate about £30m of revenue a year and profits of about £6m.
Ms Petrone insisted that despite an uncertain economic climate, the company has “the strongest pipeline we have had in the long time”.
“It is quite a resilient sector. The financial environment doesn’t seem to affect it too much. People don’t seem to want to delay this kind of this treatment.”
Ms Petrone’s desire to bolt other surgeries on to the Private Clinic Group’s burgeoning empire was supported by Bluegem.
The fund’s co-founder, Emilio Di Spiezio Sardo, said the enlarged company was “very well positioned to continue this growth journey, via both organic growth and new buy-and-build opportunities”.
The deal comes just weeks after Birmingham-based skin care clinic sk:n was bought by private equity fund TriSpan for £35m.