After Alpha Hospitals Sale, C&C Alpha Group Seeks Business Opportunities in India

After making news with the £95m sale of its the largest hospital chain for behavioural care services for adults and adolescents in England, private equity firm C&C Alpha Group (CCAG) has announced India as its new area of interest where it plans to invest in the healthcare and hospitality sectors. 

"We will now be looking for new investment opportunities in healthcare and other speciality services in India, which provide a big investment opportunity. The Group plans to invest about Rs 1,500 crore in the healthcare and hospitality sectors over the next 3 to 5 year horizon in India," said CCAG promoter and executive director, Bhanu Choudhrie.

CCAG plans to build on its Indian existence through its wholly-owned Shanti Hospitality which promotes and manages brands in India like Hyatt Hotels, Ananda in the Himalayas (managed by IHHR), Amritara Resorts and Nidra Hyatt Hotels. The group has plans of exploring new business avenues, associations and partnerships for greater outreach in India. 

"In hospitality, we have already planned to add about 1,800 rooms in India under three brands - Hyatt, Four Points and Aloft Hotels - to take our total strength to about 3,000 rooms. In addition to this, the C&C Alpha Group is also building a 200-beds super specialty hospital in South Delhi, for which we have already acquired the land", said Choudhrie. 

As a private equity investment firm with an investment perspective that typically involves investing £2-40 million per transaction, CCAG is known for incubating businesses in healthcare, hospitality, real estate, aviation, utilities and agriculture sectors by taking a mid-to-long term view of its investments. It looks to create stakeholder value for its portfolio companies by bringing together entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, project managers, and financial analysts for organic growth and strategic partnerships.

The group is headquartered in London and group has offices in India. The Alpha Hospitals sell-off was preceded by another landmark deal brokered by C&C Alpha for the Abu Dhabi-based VPS Healthcare Group for the first proton beam therapy facility in the UK.

Atlantic Coast Financial Sparking Investments in Florida

Strategic and organisational reforms have seen Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ACFC), the holding company for Atlantic Coast Bank, chart out three years of financial resurgence wherein it broke beyond solvency into a full-scale profit-making unit.

That has invoked investor interest in the company and lead to Illinois based investment firm PL Capital Group claiming a 6.4 percent stake in ACFC.  PL Capital is largely known for making investments in small to midsized banks for influencing strategy formulation and operational management. The investment in Atlantic Coast is likely inspired by the group’s track record which’s been throwing up bundle of opportunities along the way.

As puts John Stephens, CEO, Atlantic Coast Bank, “The bank has attracted a lot of attention over the last 18 months as a result of our $48 million capital raise and successful turnaround strategy. ACB has a strong leadership team that has demonstrated an ability to generate consistent earnings, and the bank is well positioned for continued growth.”

PL Capital has not had any further buy-up in the company since July and there’s been no indication of any purchase. There is a 9.9 percent capping on PL’s stake in ACFC, which is not resorting to anything different in response to the investment.

“We continue to execute on our strategy of revenue acceleration, coupled with operational excellence, expense management, and risk mitigation,” Stephens said. “We remain excited about our future, as we’re committed to grow the bank and continue creating shareholder value”, he said.

About Atlantic Coast Financial

Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation is an publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida (a Maryland corporation) and listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: ACFC), which wholly owns Atlantic Coast Bank. Atlantic Coast Bank's services are focused primarily on Personal Banking and Business Banking in the Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia regions.

At its annual general meeting in May 2015, the Bank re-elected another consecutive three-year term two of its directors: Bhanu Choudhrie, Executive Director of C&C Alpha Group Ltd, a London-based private equity group; and James D. Hogan, retired Chief Risk Officer of the Company and the Bank.

C&C Alpha Group Eyes India for Investments Worth Rs 1,500 crore

After Cygent Healthcare’s £95m buyout of Alpha Hospitals, international private equity firm C&C Alpha Group (CCAG) is now looking at investments in the Indian healthcare and hospitality sectors. In a recent statement, the group has announced of plans to invest in India over the next three to five years.

"We will now be looking for new investment opportunities in healthcare and other speciality services in India, which provide a big investment opportunity. The Group plans to invest about Rs 1,500 crore in the healthcare and hospitality sectors over the next 3 to 5 year horizon in India," said CCAG promoter and executive director, Bhanu Choudhrie.

CCAG operates in India through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shanti Hospitality which has to its credit brands and assets like Hyatt Hotels, Ananda in the Himalayas (managed by IHHR), Amritara Resorts and Nidra Hotels. By building new strategic partnerships, CCAG is now looking at strengthening its Indian footprint.  

"In hospitality, we have already planned to add about 1,800 rooms in India under three brands - Hyatt, Four Points and Aloft Hotels - to take our total strength to about 3,000 rooms. In addition to this, the C&C Alpha Group is also building a 200-beds super specialty hospital in South Delhi, for which we have already acquired the land", said Choudhrie.  

As a private equity investment firm, CCAG is known for incubating businesses in healthcare, hospitality, real estate, aviation, utilities and agriculture sectors by taking a mid-to-long term view of its investments. Its investment perspective typically involves investing £2-40 million per transaction as it looks to create stakeholder value for its portfolio companies by bringing together entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, project managers, and financial analysts for organic growth and strategic partnerships.

Headquartered in London, the group has its offices in India, and through Alpha Hospitals was the largest purveyor of behavioural care services for adults and adolescents in England. 

C&C Alpha Group to Invest Rs 1,500 Crore in India

After the landmark £95m sale of Alpha Hospitals to Cygnet Healthcare of Universal Health Services (UHS), London-based international private equity firm C&C Alpha Group (CCAG) is planning expansion into healthcare and hospitality sectors in India.

"We will now be looking for new investment opportunities in healthcare and other speciality services in India, which provide a big investment opportunity. The Group plans to invest about Rs 1,500 crore in the healthcare and hospitality sectors over the next 3 to 5 year horizon in India," said executive director, Mr. Bhanu Choudhrie.

CCAG already has a presence in India through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Shanti Hospitality, which runs hospitality brands that include Hyatt Hotels, Ananda in the Himalayas (managed by IHHR), Amritara Resorts and Nidra Hotels, which is planning on adding fourteen hotels in the next 7 years period.

The group is eyeing to augment its market share through existing and new associations.  "In hospitality, we have already planned to add about 1,800 rooms in India under three brands - Hyatt, Four Points and Aloft Hotels - to take our total strength to about 3,000 rooms. In addition to this, the C&C Alpha Group is also building a 200-beds super specialty hospital in South Delhi, for which we have already acquired the land," Choudhrie said.

As an investment holding company, CCAG incubates, grows and creates value for its portfolio companies. Its track record includes successful ventures in healthcare, hospitality, real estate, aviation, utilities and agriculture. By bringing together entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, project managers and financial analysts, it aims to create stakeholder value by organic growth and strategic partnerships. CCAG typically invests 2m-40m per transaction and takes a mid-to-long-term view of its investments.

The buyout of Alpha Hospitals was viewed as an ‘excellent geographical fit’ by UHS--one of the largest hospital providers in the US. With the addition of four new hospitals and 305 beds, UHS now has a total of of 21 hospitals and approximately 1,100 beds in the UK through its subsidiary Cygnet.

Acquisition of Alpha Hospitals Gets C&C Alpha £95m

After it brokered a breakthrough £150-million deal for the Abu Dhabi-based VPS Healthcare Group recently, international private equity firm C&C Alpha Group (CCAG) has announced the sale of Alpha Hospitals to Cygnet Healthcare in a £95-million acquisition.

Cygnet Healthcare is the UK arm of the parent company, Universal Health Services (UHS), which has held the development as an ‘excellent geographical fit’ to their expanding UK business. The acquistion adds four new hospitals and 305 beds to the rapidly expanding Cygnet family. 

Launched in 2002 with CCAG’s financial backing, Alpha Hospitals is the largest purveyor of behavioural care services for adults and adolescents in England and is defined by its state-of-the-art facilities in Bury, Sheffield and Woking.  It is known for excellence in a sector where secure settings are extremely critical and definitive of specialised tertiary care.

Patricia Hodgkinson, former CEO of Florence Nightingale Hospitals, initiated the group which was soon joined by C&C Alpha Group founder, Mr. Bhanu Choudhrie. With working associations with the NHS and its local commissioning partners, Alpha Hospitals grew on from its first site-- a disused hospital in 2003 in Woking, Surrey—to amass a turnover of £42.1 million for the year ended March 2014.

Since then, it has been attracting business interests from buyers and investors, including UHS—one of the largest hospital providers in the US.

"The strong interest we had from potential bidders and the price we ultimately received is testament to the strength of the business," said Choudhrie. "CCAG incubated Alpha Hospitals and invested in it for 13 years, allowing it to scale up and grow successfully. I am delighted it will continue to grow under a new owner.”

"Our approach is to back management teams which create long-term value. I was on the board at its inception and have always taken a close personal interest in the business. We will now be looking for new investment opportunities in healthcare and other speciality services", he added.

CCAG facilitates business interests in healthcare, hospitality, real estate, aviation, utilities and agriculture. Its £150-million deal with VPS for a cancer hospital in London will see the first full-scale proton beam therapy centre come up in the UK and is the first healthcare facility to be re-developed in over 30 years.

C&C Alpha Group is headquartered in London with offices in India. Established as a holding company for private venture capitalists with more than 30 years of industry captivity, it brings together entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, project managers and financial analysts to create stakeholder value through organic growth and strategic partnerships.