Amanat’s healthcare arm could revive shelved IPO

• Cambridge Health still ‘considering’ listing
• Plan to grow to 1,000 beds by end 2027
• Company sets sights on Riyadh and Medina

Cambridge Health Group, a post-acute and rehabilitation care provider 85 percent owned by Dubai-listed Amanat Holdings, said a potential listing of the business is still being considered. 

The company wants to grow its portfolio of hospital beds across the GCC from 715 to 1,000 by the end of 2027, group chief executive Wael Abdallah told AGBI. 

Cambridge operates six facilities in the Gulf, in Jeddah, Khobar and Dhahran in Saudi Arabia, two in Abu Dhabi and one in Al Ain. It offers specialised medical treatments, physiotherapy and other rehabilitative care to patients that are not ready to return home independently. 

The company is looking to acquire sites in Riyadh and Medina and enter Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Abdallah said. 

In the longer term it wants to tap the wellness market with preventative health clinics and launch standalone rehab centres and home care. 

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The global post-acute care market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.6 percent to reach $1.9 trillion by 2030, according to market research company Insight Partners. 

This represents a “transformative opportunity” within the GCC to meet the demands of the region’s ageing population and rising chronic disease rates, said a PwC report last September. 

Bloomberg reported that Amanat selected banks in 2023 to manage an initial public offering of its healthcare business expected to raise around $200 million. The plans were shelved when the investment group decided instead to list its education arm Almasar Alshamil, which raised $160 million from its Tadawul flotation in December. 

Abdallah said: “My understanding is that it was about priorities. The education constituent was considered more ready for a listing given the Saudi government’s contribution to the sector.”

The kingdom is expanding privatisation of specialist and mainstream education to improve quality and accessibility. 

For the healthcare business, an IPO is “something we’re always considering”, said Abdallah.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve scratched [the plan]. It’s a different monetisation avenue and we’re always looking at how best to serve the interests of our portfolio companies and shareholders,” he said.

“But we’re not like private equity, dictated by a timetable for [an exit].”

An Amanat spokesperson said: “Our focus remains on scaling operations, enhancing margins and progressing toward our medium-term target of exceeding 1,000 beds. 

“Any future monetisation, including a potential IPO, would be considered only when strategically and financially optimal.”

Amanat grew its revenues by 17 percent year on year to AED931.7 million in 2025, driven by “strong performance across its core businesses”, it said in a stock market filing last week.

The healthcare division grew its average monthly EBITDA by 21 percent year on year to AED10.4 million in the fourth quarter and operational bed capacity by 16 percent. A further 90 beds are to be operational in 2026 across existing facilities, with 10 more under development. 

“We could grow our capacity to 800 beds with planned refurbishments then add one or two facilities in Saudi, which would take us to our target,” Abdallah said. The cost of adding a new bed is roughly AED1 million, he added. 

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In the kingdom 15-20 percent of acute care hospital beds are occupied by post-acute, or long-term care (LTC) patients, “highlighting unmet demand” for an estimated 12,000 LTC beds by 2030 and 24,400 by 2040, according to a Knight Frank report in January. 

Saudi’s Ministry of Investment has identified LTC as an investment priority and the Health Holding Company aims to convert lower-capacity hospitals into specialised LTC facilities. 

“The investment potential is significant,” said Gireesh Kumar, an associate partner at Knight Frank.

“With occupancy exceeding 90 percent, there is an urgent need to expand LTC capacity and a growing opportunity for local and international healthcare providers.”