Waha invests in UAE healthcare

Waha Capital PJSC (ADX: WAHA), a leading Abu Dhabi-based investment company, has revealed its investment in the healthcare sector by acquiring Anglo Arabian Healthcare (AAH), a new healthcare group set up to own and operate hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and diagnostic centres across the United Arab Emirates. This investment broadens Waha Capital's asset mix, marking its entry into an area that holds high growth potential and is a priority for the UAE. The healthcare group owns and operates 16 assets, employs over 300 people, including 60 doctors, and serves over 400,000 registered outpatients, with average daily visits of over 1,500 patients. The initial assets include a day-surgery hospital in Sharjah and a new 120-bed hospital in Ajman, which is due to open later this year, as well as six clinics, five pharmacies and three laboratories across Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ajman. AAH plans to expand rapidly in the next few years, both organically and through further acquisitions. AAH will operate several brands serving different segments of the market, from affordable, quality healthcare to first class polyclinics and hospitals. In addition, the group will offer world class pathology and radiology services to its own healthcare network as well as to other independent clinics. "Healthcare is a government priority for the UAE and a vital area for investment, especially as the population expands and ages," said Waha Capital Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Salem Al Noaimi. "This transaction, in a high potential sector, reflects our strategy to invest in attractive assets where we can build value. Through this investment, Waha Capital will support AAH's expansion, enabling the group to provide efficient, quality care to a large portion of the population, whose needs have been underserved in the past." "Waha Capital's investment into AAH gives it strong and stable institutional support enabling the group to thrive. We believe that the key to building an integrated health group is primarily to focus on the needs of the patients and to do this in partnership with highly professional doctors and nurses, who share the same values. By jointly developing recognisable brands, which embed this philosophy of great healthcare and customer service, we can create value and build long-lasting trust," said Mark Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Anglo Arabian Healthcare. Waha Capital's investment in the new health-care group involves taking majority stakes in the Sharjah Corniche Group, Ajman-based Ibn Sina Group and Ibn Sina Hospital, and Proficiency Central Laboratories, which owns market-leading laboratories in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The founders of the companies have all retained meaningful minority stakes in their respective businesses and are keen to reinvest in future growth plans.