Denis O’Brien’s Beacon Hospital being sold for more than €400m

It’s understood the sale values the hospital at between €400m and €500m.

Today’s News in 90 seconds – 13th February 2024

The sale of the private hospital comes a decade after Mr O’Brien and associates bought the hospital from US care group UPMC.

The most recently filed publicly available accounts for the company behind the hospital show that it generated turnover of €201.9m in 2022, up from €188.5m the previous year. It posted a pre-tax profit of €1m in 2022, which was down from €4.3m in 2021.

Mr O’Brien is the majority shareholder of the hospital, with other shareholders including the hospital’s CEO, Michael Cullen, who’ll remain in his role and a shareholder once the deal is completed.

The hospital has grown significantly since they acquired it in 2014, and now treats three times as many patients and has doubled the number of staff. It now employs more than 1,600 healthcare professionals and more than 300 consultants. It treats more than 200,000 patients a year.

Macquarie is buying the hotel via its Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 7.

“The exceptional growth experienced over the past ten years is largely due to the encouragement and investment provided by the hospital’s majority shareholder, Denis O’Brien, who empowered the Board and management to grow and evolve Beacon Hospital into one of Ireland’s leading facilities today,” said Mr Cullen.

He added: “Looking to the future, we believe that Macquarie Asset Management’s support as our long-term shareholder, with its global expertise in healthcare and social infrastructure, will be critical as we embark on the next phase of our growth plans.”

Mr Cullen said Macquarie will work closely with the hospital as it looks to build the “largest private healthcare campus in Ireland”.