Virgin eyes $65-bn Australia healthcare sector, in bid to expand beyond Europe
21 May 2013
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, which entered the UK health care market two years ago, is now looking at opportunities in Australia, where public and private expenditure on healthcare is about 10 per cent of Gross Domestic product (GDP), according to The Australian newspaper.
In the last two years since starting operation in the UK, Virgin runs over 100 National Health Service (NHS) services including doctors, radiology, community health and children's social care centres.
Virgin's global chief executive, Josh Bayliss, told the newspaper, the group thought health and wellness was an industry it could do well in rather than illness.
The company plans to set up Virgin Active health clubs in Australia and Asia, to spur expansion beyond Europe and South Africa. Sydney currently has three clubs while Melbourne has one, with an additional club planned for each capital city in the coming months.
The move comes with Virgin looking to enter the higher end of markets, to take advantage of the fact that its core customers were getting older and wealthier. The company was also looking at employee engagement software as also solutions to help companies with the improvement of wellbeing, motivation and productivity of their employees.
The group could also seek to follow up its UK move with entry into pathology, diagnostic imaging and other healthcare services, which would pitch it against companies like Sonic Healthcare Primary Health Care, Capitol Health Limited and open up its potential entry into the hospital industry, where Ramsay Health Care was the leading private operator.
Sir Richard is known for his group's successful forays into diversified sectors and thoroughly shaking them up.
According to analysts, the success of Virgin's Australian domestic airline in the face of a market dominating Qantas, and its financial business Virgin Money stood testimony to that and Australian health care operators would do well to watch the Virgin Group's moves carefully.