GI Partners adds the Shirebrook Care Group to Care Aspirations

London, United Kingdom, 21 December 2009 – GI Partners, the trans-Atlantic private equity firm has continued its stated strategy of buying and building specialist healthcare businesses with the acquisition of Shirebrook Care Group, a bolt-on acquisition to its’ portfolio company, Care Aspirations. The deal, valued at approximately £20m, will double the size of the existing business. With facilities located in the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire, Shirebrook Care Group offers a full range of services for adults with severe learning disabilities including continuous care, respite care and day care services. Following the acquisition, Care Aspirations will be firmly established as a leading provider in this niche of the market supporting circa 500 individuals. The combined Group will employ over 600 people.

This has been a busy last quarter of 2009 for GI Partners. The acquisition of Shirebrook is being funded out of GI Partners Fund III L.P which recently closed with commitments of $1.9bn and follows straight on from GI Partners’ investment in the recently formed Urban & Civic, a UK property specialist company, which acquired Alconbury Airfield in November. It has also supported its platform pub company, the Orchid Group, to acquire two smaller businesses as the sector goes through a wave of contraction.

Alfred Foglio, Managing Director of GI Partners who chairs Care Aspirations said: “We are very pleased with the progress that has been made since we first invested in Care Aspirations in August 2008. By supporting the acquisition of Shirebrook Care Group we are significantly enhancing our existing service offering and building further scale in the business as we seek to create the UK’s leading specialist severe learning disabilities care group.”