The UK's largest mental health-care provider is set to be put up for sale after its owner appointed investment bank Rothschild to explore a £500m deal.

Mental health-care group Cambian plots £500m hospitals exit

The UK's largest mental health-care provider is set to be put up for sale after its owner appointed investment bank Rothschild to explore a £500m deal.

Cambian provides services to more than 1,100 patients in more than 60 facilities across the UK. Photo: Getty Images/Peter Macdiarmid

By James Quinn, Deputy Sunday Business Editor

9:30PM BST 22 Sep 2012

 

Cambian Group, owned by private equity investor GI Partners, could be sold as the result of a strategic review undertaken by the bank.
 

It is understood that, while no time-frame has been placed on an exit, GI is keen to achieve full value for the business, which it has backed for eight years.
 

Cambian provides services to more than 1,100 patients in more than 60 facilities across the UK. As well as specialist mental health care, it also offers educational services to people with learning disabilities and operates special schools for children with autism and Asperger's syndrome. It works with 140 local authorities, with all services publicly funded.
 

GI has built the business up since 2004, when it started with a single 18-bed rehabilitation unit, via organic growth and acquisition, most notably buying Care Aspirations in a deal valued at £60m-£70m in summer 2008.
 

Sources indicated that about £500m would be acceptable to GI but added that, due to a lack of recent deals of this size in the sector, it was difficult to assess accurately.
 

Meanwhile, The Sunday Telegraph can also reveal that Enara, the in-home care for the elderly group, has been placed for sale after receiving a number of unsolicited takeover bids.

The company's owner, August Equity, has appointed KPMG to run the sales process after receiving the bids, which came from both trade bidders and other private equity houses.
Spokesmen for Rothschild and KPMG declined to comment.