Businessman Fergus Hoban has invested €4 million to date in his private clinic company, Touchstone Ltd. The most recently filed accounts show that a total of €2.5 million was invested in the business between 2003 and 2005.
But Mr Hoban said yesterday that the figure has since increased to €4 million as he has continued to develop the business.
He said that the cash invested to date had come from his own resources, but he indicated that as the Touchstone chain develops, more private investors are likely to come on board. Ulster Bank is providing the debt that it needs.
Mr Hoban was one of the main shareholders in the Unicare pharmacy chain that was sold to German operator Gehe in 2002 for an estimated €145 million.
Touchstone recently opened its first clinic in Mulhuddart, Co Dublin, and intends to open 59 more by 2011.
The company's clinics will essentially each be local medical centres consisting of a general practice (GP) and non-GP services that will include a pharmacy, healthfood shop, diagnostics, paramedics, physiotherapy, chiropody and radiography.
They will also act as bases for public health nursing and domicillary care such as home help. The services will be available to both public and private patients, and Mr Hoban said yesterday that it has been working closely with the Health Service Executive (HSE).
When the chain is fully developed, he said that its outlets would be available to around 70 per cent of the population.
The business is structured so that Touchstone buys the properties and brings in the GPs, who will operate their surgeries in its centres.
The company will not take a share in their business, and instead makes its return from the non-GP aspects of the business. It also carries all of the risk associated with the properties.
"GPs have no interest in the corporatised model," he explained.
Mr Hoban said that the company plans to have between six to eight GPs per centre.
It is currently at an advanced stage of planning with 12 proposed sites, and is in talks with groups of GPs who are interested in operating from these centres. It is working on 35 proposed clinics.
Touchstone will open its chain at various stages over the next six years, culminating in 2010 and 2011.
It plans to open 20 clinics in each of those years to bring the business up to its full complement of 60 centres.
