UnitedHealth UK recorded a £8.2m loss and a 27 per cent fall in turnover in 2012 - its eleventh loss-making year in a row - the company’s annual accounts reveal.

The accounts for the year ending 31 December 2012, lodged with Companies House this month, revealed revenues shrank to £4.3m, from £5.8m in 2011.

HSJ revealed last month that the US parent company UnitedHealth Group is set to wind up its loss-making UK arm and shift staff into another subsidiary with a more pan-European focus.

The director’s report, a legal requirement in the accounts, said: “Both the level of business and the year-end financial position were reasonable, given the difficult marketplace conditions the directors expect that the present level of activity will be sustained for the foreseeable future.”   

The company, which began operating in the UK in 2002 and has posted losses every year, has cut staff numbers and costs, the accounts show.

Headcount fell from 67 to 56 while staff-related expenditure, comprising wages, social security and pension costs, dropped from £6.2m in 2011 to £4.9m in 2012.

HSJ understands the UK arm of the firm will rebrand as Optum Health and Technology and plans to announce it will be transferring staff in the coming weeks.

UnitedHealth UK chief executive Katherine Ward last year became vice president international development of Optum International, another subsidiary of the US parent company.

A company called Optum Health and Technology Ltd was registered with Companies House in July this year to the same address and company secretary as UHUK.

The company declined to answer HSJ’s questions about the changes.

However, a spokeswoman said: “UnitedHealth UK, remains fully committed to the UK and to continuing our work in the healthcare sector.

“UnitedHealth UK is part of Optum and together with its other business entities employs more than 120 people in the UK. We are actively pursuing new opportunities to deliver integrated solutions that work to support the healthcare system and improve the health and wellbeing of individuals across the UK.”

Two other private providers which carry out NHS contracted work, Spire Healthcare and Barchester Healthcare also filed accounts in recent weeks.

Spire saw profits fall from £99.9m in the 2011 calendar year to £94.8m in 2012.

However, it also recorded £17.1m of exceptional items, which included £8.1m spent on corporate restructuring and financing and £6m of costs relating to removing and replacing PIP breast implants.

The company’s turnover grew from £537.3m in 2011 to £580.8m in 2012.  

Care home provider Barchester Healthcare saw revenues rise - by 3.6 per cent to £463.2m in 2012. Its profits dipped 2.8 per cent to £146.1m, most of which it attributed to “planned operational losses”.

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