Spire Healthcare to support NHS with coronavirus

"Following a meeting with NHS England and representatives from across the private sector to discuss future Covid-19 planning, Spire Healthcare has been asked for, and has offered, its support to the NHS during this challenging time," it said.

Spire, which owns and operates private hospitals and clinics in the UK, said the exact nature, extent and timing of the support is yet to be determined.

"In the meantime, we continue to offer a full service to our patients," it said, adding that it will update the market when further information is available.

Broker Liberum said: "We suspect that either Spire will help directly with Covid-19 cases or simply do the elective procedures that the NHS cannot. But the main point is that through this difficult period Spire is likely to be running at high utilisation, something its struggled to deliver since IPO, hence we view this a as positive."