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NMC Health

NMC Health Overview

NMC Health was a healthcare chain and distribution business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was founded by BR Shetty in 1974 as the New Medical Centre in Abu Dhabi and grew to become one of the largest private healthcare networks in the UAE and the third largest in Oman.

The company had headquarters in Abu Dhabi and branch offices in Dubai, Ajman, Al Ain and Northern Emirates. At its peak in 2018, NMC was a FTSE 100 company valued at £8.6 billion on the London Stock Exchange, with business across 19 countries. 

It operated in the UK as NMC Healthcare Plc and in the UAE as NMC Healthcare Ltd, under NMC Healthcare Group.  

The group ran into trouble in 2020 and went into administration after disclosing more than $4 billion in hidden debt. Administrators Alvarez & Marsal filed a $4 billion lawsuit in July 2023 against BR Shetty and its former chief executive related to these allegations and other legal proceedings have taken place in relation to the case. 

In March 2022, the group’s core operations completed a “deed of company arrangement” restructuring process in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Courts to exit administration in the UAE. They are now subsidiaries of a new company known as NMC OpCo Ltd.

NMC OpCo continues to serve about 5.4 million patients annually through its network of 11 hospitals, 54 community clinics and specialty care centres and 1,400 in-patient hospital beds.

In March 2024, NMC in administration reached an out-of-court settlement with Dubai Islamic Bank, ending a long-running legal dispute with the lender.

NMC Health News

At its peak in 2018, Abu Dhabi's NMC was valued at £8.6 billion on the London Stock Exchange, with operations in 19 countries

Secret records found of alleged NMC fraud, court told 

Administrators for Abu Dhabi-based NMC Health found internal “cheat sheets” showing the true condition of the company’s finances and detailing “significant payments” to people including founder BR Shetty, a UK court has heard. NMC collapsed in 2020 with debts exceeding £3 billion ($4.1 billion). Administrator Alvarez & Marsal is suing big four accountancy firm EY […]

BR Shetty founded NMC in the 1970s. The company exited administration in 2022

NMC’s BR Shetty fails to overturn $33m DIFC court ruling

BR Shetty has lost his bid to appeal against a $33 million judgment by the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts in a case linked to the collapse of the company he founded, NMC Health. In the ruling made public this month, Chief Justice Wayne Martin dismissed Shetty’s request to challenge the judgment in favour of […]

BR Shetty was found liable for debts tied to three NMC Healthcare credit facilities, according to court documents

BR Shetty ordered to pay $106m to Indian bank

BR Shetty, the founder of UAE company NMC Health, has been ordered by a Dubai court to pay $106 million to India’s Icici Bank over personal guarantees tied to the embattled hospital group. This marks a second court ruling made public so far this month. Earlier this month, Shetty was ordered to pay $33 million […]

Staff at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, a subsidiary of PureHealth. The company has walked away after months of negotiations about buying NMC Healthcare

NMC confirms no buyers so far have matched valuation

The UAE’s troubled hospital operator NMC Healthcare confirmed that it has no buyers yet for the company, with differences around valuation cited as one of the reasons.  Earlier this week, two people familiar with discussions around a possible sale said that Abu Dhabi-based PureHealth Holding, the UAE’s biggest healthcare group by number of facilities, had […]

Flower, Flower Arrangement, Plant

NMC founder BR Shetty ordered to pay $33m to Indian bank

BR Shetty, the founder of the UAE healthcare company NMC Health, which collapsed in 2020 with billions of dollars in hidden debt, has been ordered by a Dubai court to pay more than $33 million to an Indian bank. In a ruling made public only last month, the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts in November […]

NMC Royal Hospital in Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Abu Dhabi, one of 85 medical facilities the company operates in the UAE

PureHealth in talks to buy hospital operator NMC

PureHealth Holding, the UAE’s largest healthcare group, is in discussions to acquire the UAE hospital operator NMC Healthcare, sources familiar with the matter say. A deal, if finalised, could be announced before the first half of 2025, sources told AGBI, speaking on condition of anonymity. Other potential bidders had explored the opportunity but were not […]

Patients from the GCC are travelling to India, Thailand or Egypt for cheaper medical treatment

Affordable healthcare in the GCC: a prescription for profit

The GCC’s affordable healthcare market is ripe for investment, research suggests, as patients are forced to travel to India, Thailand or Egypt to find cheap treatment. Low-income inhabitants make up about 38 percent of the Gulf’s total population, according to Mansoor Ahmed, executive director for healthcare at Colliers Middle East in Dubai. The proportion ranges […]

The NMC specialty hospital in Abu Dhabi is one of 85 the group owns and operates

NMC Healthcare weighs IPO among strategic options

The UAE hospital group NMC Healthcare has appointed Rothschild & Co as its first financial adviser, to review strategic options for its future, including a sale or initial public offering. The second financial adviser will be appointed in due course. The Abu Dhabi-headquartered healthcare provider completed its restructuring in March 2022, which included appointing a […]

An NMC hospital in Abu Dhabi. The business was founded in the 1970s and went into administration in 2020

NMC and Dubai Islamic Bank end legal dispute

NMC Healthcare has reached an out-of-court settlement with Dubai Islamic Bank, ending the long-running legal dispute between the two businesses. The healthcare operator had borrowed around $400 million from DIB, which is the largest Islamic bank in the UAE. The loan used collateral known as insurance receivables, which are payments by insurance companies for medical […]

At its peak in 2018, Abu Dhabi's NMC was valued at £8.6 billion on the London Stock Exchange, with operations in 19 countries

NMC Health censured by UK financial authority

UAE healthcare operator NMC has been censured by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for misleading the market to the tune of $4 billion. Founded by Indian businessman BR Shetty in the mid-1970s, NMC ran into difficulties after short-seller Muddy Waters called into question its financial reporting and doubts emerged over the size of stakes […]