Tribal Group PLC
14 February 2006
Tribal Group plc
Site Visit for Analysts and Investors
14 February 2006
Tribal Group plc is today hosting a visit for analysts and institutional
investors to the St. Mary's NHS Treatment Centre in Portsmouth operated by
Mercury Health, Tribal Group's healthcare delivery division.
The Portsmouth facility is the third NHS treatment centre to be opened by
Mercury Health. Its fourth facility, an elective orthopaedic centre in Haywards
Heath, is due to open in July 2006. The first three facilities have all been
opened on time and to budget and are expected to make a positive contribution to
Group operating profit in the six months to 31 March 2006.
In addition to establishing its first four centres, Mercury Health is also
participating in the second wave of NHS procurement opportunities. The scale of
these opportunities is unprecedented. The aggregate value of current NHS
procurement programmes across both diagnostics and elective surgery is estimated
to be in the region of £3-4 billion.
In diagnostics, as previously announced, Mercury Health is shortlisted on three
regional contracts to provide a range of diagnostic imaging, endoscopy and other
services to NHS patients. In elective surgery, the company has submitted
preliminary proposals in respect of a significant proportion of the 24 schemes
currently being tendered and has been shortlisted on a number of the schemes for
which, to date, notification has been received.
Announcement of preferred bidders on both the diagnostics and elective surgery
schemes is not expected to commence before summer 2006. In addition to these
opportunities, Mercury Health is currently submitting a preliminary proposal to
join the Extended Choice Network, a list of independent sector clinical
facilities that will participate in the Choose and Book arrangements currently
being introduced for NHS patients.
The precise details of the funding required to support any diagnostic and
elective surgery contracts that may be won by Mercury Health will not be
determined until the outcome of the current procurement process is known.
However, at this stage, Tribal Group believes that the principal elements of any
funding package will include non-recourse senior debt to support the
construction of new clinical facilities, finance from existing Tribal Group
banking arrangements to fund implementation costs and, if required, utilisation
of Tribal Group's performance guarantee facility to support performance security
requirements.
The publication last month of the White Paper on out of hospital services is an
important step in opening up the provision of primary care services to new
providers. A number of pilot primary care schemes are currently being tendered
to provide a range of services including GP practices, walk-in centres and
support services to care homes. Mercury Health's primary care division has been
shortlisted on several of these schemes.
The visit to the Portsmouth centre today will provide analysts and investors
with the opportunity to meet the senior management team of Mercury Health and to
learn more about its operations, the NHS reform agenda and current market
opportunities. No material new information on Tribal Group will be disclosed. A
copy of the presentation given during the visit will be available on Tribal
Croup's website - www.tribalgroup.co.uk.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Name: Henry Pitman, Chief Executive, Tribal Group plc
Peter Martin, Chief Executive, Mercury Health
Telephone: 01285 886020
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange