Bupa sells Blackrock Clinic stake

Businessman Larry Goodman and developer John Flynn emerged yesterday as new shareholders in Blackrock Clinic private hospital.

Both men joined three existing shareholders, Jimmy Sheehan, Joe Sheehan and Dr George Duffy in a consortium which bought out British group Bupa Hospital's 56 per cent holding in the Dublin facility. Bupa had been expected to sell its stake for some time, and it was reported that both Mr Goodman and Mr Flynn were interested in taking a stake.

The investors refused to reveal the price paid for the stake. However, previous reports valued the controlling stake at €200-€250 million. As the consortium did not give a figure, it was not possible to confirm this.

Jimmy Sheehan, an orthopaedic surgeon, Joe Sheehan, who is based in the US, and Dr Duffy, a nuclear medicine specialist, founded the Blackrock Clinic over 20 years ago.

They now operate under the name Blackrock Medical Partners Ltd, which they set up in 2000. They are also investors in Blackrock Hospital Ltd and Blackrock Clinic Ltd which have been trading since the mid 1980s and 1990s respectively.

Blackrock Medical Partners built another private hospital, the Galway Clinic, which opened in 2004 and was the first to take advantage of tax breaks introduced in 2001 to promote investment in private healthcare.

Mr Goodman already holds 40 per cent of the Galway Clinic and is an investor in the Hermitage Clinic in Lucan, Co Dublin. Dr Duffy, Jimmy Sheehan, Mr Flynn and another developer, Seán Mulryan of Ballymore Properties, are also involved. They have plans to extend Blackrock by adding another three floors and a multistorey car park.

According to the latest accounts filed for Blackrock Medical Partners, the company made over €4 million in profit in 2004.

The accounts, lodged with the Companies' Registration Office, show that it turned over €74.14 million that year. After costs and administrative expenses, it had an operating profit before tax of €4.8 million. The balance sheet shows that it had shareholders' funds of €4.2 million and cash in the bank of €5.3 million.

Blackrock Hospital Ltd and its subsidiaries, which includes the clinic, had profits before tax of €8.6 million on a €62 million turnover in 2004. It paid its shareholders, including the Sheehans and Dr Duffy, €3.3 million in dividends. Shareholders' funds at the end of 2004 totalled €16 million.