Prestbury has unconditionally contracted to acquire a £686m freehold portfolio of 21 private hospitals from the UK from the consortium, Capio AB business. The properties will be leased back to the UK parent on new 30-year leases with annual fixed uplifts at an initial rent of £39.5m.

The consortium is made up of Apax Partners, Nordic Capital and Apax France.

Nick Leslau, chairman of Prestbury, said: “We are delighted to have been able to acquire an excellent portfolio of private hospitals with all the defensive qualities we look for in long term sale and leasebacks.

“We were happy to deal with the consortium on an exclusive basis and conclude this complex deal in two weeks from start to finish, thereby assisting the consortium in underwriting the larger deal. We have considerable appetite and resources to do much more in the sale and leaseback arena.”

Khawar Mann, director at Apax Partners, said: “Prestbury has been excellent to work with. They moved quickly and were real partners as we negotiated this complex transaction in a very short timeframe. The sale and leaseback of the UK hospitals was a key part of our strategy in acquiring Capio last year.”