Be Well Hospitals to invest Rs 200 cr

Be Well Hospitals, a secondary care hospital chain focusing on Tier II, III cities, is looking at expanding operations to 50 hospitals in the next five years with an estimated investment of around Rs 200 crore.

Majority of the investment would be through private equity funding, and the company would look at raising the initial Rs 50 crore from the PE firms by early next year, said a company official. The company, at present, has five facilities spread across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Speaking on the sidelines of a panel discussion on entrepreneurship opportunities in healthcare organised by venture capital firm Helion Ventures, C J Vetrievel, managing director of the Chennai-based hospital chain, said the company was looking at setting up hospitals with up to 50 beds across the Tier II and III cities in Tamil Nadu immediately.
 

"We expect Rs 4-5 crore as an initial investment for setting up each hospital. At present, we have five hospitals and plans are afoot to expand it to 50 in the next five years," said Vetrievel. He added the total investment for achieving the goal was estimated to be Rs 200 crore and a major share of it would come from the PE route. The company already has a private equity player, Hyderabad-based Song Advisors, on its board.

It expects new launches to achieve break-even in 6-12 months, and a return over investment in three to four years. Vetrievel also said the company would be focusing on quality paramedics and doctors to ensure quality of services to the patients.