Spire Healthcare has completed a £425m refinancing deal which includes a sustainability-linked element tied to environmental and quality factors.
The private hospital group said it was the first of its kind among UK independent hospital providers.
Health & Protection asked what these factors and measures were linked to, but the group declined to give any further details.
“We are not providing details on the sustainability-linked element of our new funding facilities beyond what is provided in today’s announcement,” a spokesman said.
The hospital group re-financed a £425m loan facility and £100m revolving credit facility due to expire in July 2023. As part of the process it paid off £100m from the loan facility.
The new arrangement, provided by a group of nine banks, comprises a senior loan facility of £325m and an undrawn revolving credit facility of £100m until February 2026, with an option to extend by one year. The covenants are unchanged.
Carbon neutral aim
In September Spire announced plans to become carbon neutral by the end of the decade.
It’s move includes installing solar panels on hospital rooftops, replacing gas-powered boilers with more efficient electrical equipment, and improving building insulation.
The hospital group said it expected that procuring electricity from renewable sources would result in a 40% reduction in its carbon emissions.
Last year it also completed several hospital transactions after being the subject of a failed £1.4bn bid by Ramsay Health Care.
In September it agreed a £15.7m deal to buy the Claremont Private Hospital in Sheffield from Aspen Healthcare, which was completed in November.
Then in December Spire announced it had sold its Cheshire hospital for £89m as part of a sale and leaseback agreement that will see it continue to operate the facility.
Spire said the £23m profit would be used “to provide financial flexibility for post-Covid opportunities, and an improved cash position while Covid-19 uncertainty continues.”