Virgin Care taken over by private equity firm

The company, whose involvement in NHS activity has been seen as controversial by some campaigners, will be rebranded as HCRG Care Group after an acquisition by Twenty20 Capital.

Announcing the takeover, Twenty20 said all services provided by Virgin Care were rated “good” or “outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission, and it credited the firm with making a “positive difference to millions of people”.

The company’s press release said: “Neither Virgin, nor its founder, has ever taken a penny from the business, committing instead to reinvest any returns back into the company and its frontline services.

“There, whilst owners of Virgin Care, the group has chosen to leave the value invested and created in the company for Twenty20 Capital.”

Vivienne McVey, chief executive of HCRG Care Group, said: “This investment by Twenty20 will allow us not only to continue that work but also to build on our existing success.

“Whilst we have a new name… it remains business as usual.

Virgin has previously won several large contracts in the NHS, including children’s services in Devon and community services in Bath and North East Somerset.

.