SARquavitae

Business at time of investment

Palamon originally invested in Grupo SAR, the third largest provider of elderly care services in Spain with 39 residential facilities, serving more than 120,000 people and employing 6,350.  In 2008 it reported revenue of €127 million.

Investment rationale

Palamon identified that there was substantial growth potential in the Spanish long-term care market. This was driven by strong socio-demographic trends of an ageing population, increasing levels of wealth and the erosion of the traditional family care model. Moreover, Spain's spending on long term healthcare as a proportion of GDP lags almost all other developed EU countries. Legislation passed in 2009 bridges that gap and committed the Spanish state to giving elderly citizens the right to receive care. This highly fragmented market was expected to consolidate rapidly as the government presses for higher professional standards.

Value creation

• De-levered the company: Implemented a sustainable real estate strategy to reduce leverage and release capital to fund growth
• Acquisitions: Developed a residential unit acquisition capability to accelerate expansion.  In 2011, completed a major acquisition of Mapfre Quavitae, doubling the company’s size, to create the Spanish leader in elderly care. In 2015 completed the acquisition of Novaire, adding significant additional scale to the business.

Exit

SARquavitae was established as the largest providers in the Spanish elderly care services market, generating annual revenues of over €300 million, providing more than 14,000 beds and employing over 12,000 staff.  In February 2017 Palamon completed the €550 million sale of the company. Palamon sold SARquavitae’s operating business to GeriaVi for €440 million and SARquavitae’s property companies were sold to Eurosic Lagune, a third party real estate investor, in a separate transaction prior to the sale. Both sales together generated a combined investment return of 3.0x for Palamon.