C&C Alpha Group, a London-headquartered private investment firm run by a non-resident Indian businessman, is planning to invest Rs 1,500 crore ($230 million) in healthcare and hospitality sectors in India over the next three-five years, it said on Friday.
The group is founded by NRI businessman Bhanu Choudhrie.
“In hospitality, we plan 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. C&C Alpha Group is also building a 200-bed super specialty hospital in South Delhi for which we have already acquired land," Choudhrie said.
“Our approach is to back management teams which create long-term value. We will now be looking for new investment opportunities in healthcare and other specialty services in India, which again provide an investment opportunity unlike any other," he said.
Meanwhile, C&C Alpha Group has sold its UK-based hospital chain Alpha Hospitals to Cygnet Healthcare. The overall deal was worth over Rs 970 crore. It is not clear how much stake C&C Alpha held in the hospital chain.
The divestment is a part of a move to increase focus on India, a top official said.
Launched in 2002 by Patricia Hodgkinson, former CEO of the Florence Nightingale Hospitals Group, Alpha Hospitals was backed by C&C Alpha.
It provides psychiatric care in England and runs facilities in Bury, Sheffield. It has more than 300 beds and employs over 1,000 people. Alpha Hospitals launched its first hospital in Woking, Surrey, in 2003 and after the funding from CCAG, Alpha Hospitals later expanded to the two other sites. Its turnover was £42.1 million for the year ended March 31, 2014.
Cygnet Healthcare is a part of Universal Health Services, one of the largest hospital companies in the US.
C&C Alpha Group was established as a holding company for private investors who have been involved in venture capital funding for more than 30 years. The firm is led by former Tata Group executive Cherian Thomas as CEO. It typically invests £20 million-£40 million per transaction and takes a mid-to-long-term view of its investments.
