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UAE: NMC Healthcare eyes acquisitions, rebranding as hospital crosses 50 years
In the past few years, the company has gone through major restructuring
- PUBLISHED: Thu 15 Jan 2026, 2:50 PM
- By:
- Waheed Abbas
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UAE-based NMC Healthcare is looking at acquisitions and rebranding itself as it enters a new era, its chief executive said on Thursday.
“Last year, we celebrated our 50th anniversary, something to be proud of. There're not many companies that are 50 years old when the UAE is only 54 years old. It's now a new era, and we need to look at the new structure of the company, going forward. A lot of people ask us about rebranding. It is something we're exploring. But it's not that easy, because there's a legacy behind it. People are loyal to NMC, especially in Abu Dhabi,” David Hadley said during a media briefing in Dubai on Thursday.
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The healthcare group was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012, but it was delisted following financial irregularities and was placed under the administration of creditors, led by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. In the past few years, the company has gone through major restructuring.
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“We've identified a number of growth projects across the group, within existing facilities. We're busy with a major development project at Dubai Investment Park. There's a lot of growth in Dubai South. We're the only hospital in that part of town. We are repositioning that hospital quite substantially.
"The Sharjah facility needs some work because it is almost 50 years old. We've identified a project there. We haven't started yet because it's very challenging to do that project,” he said, adding that they’re exploring opportunities and enhancing existing facilities across the other emirates as well.
“There are a number of clinics that we've already opened, and there are a few more that we've identified, probably around 10 clinics over the next few years that we need to add, because as new communities are developed, you need to put your footprint into these facilities. In terms of new hospitals, we'd love to build a new hospital, because there are a lot of opportunities, especially in Dubai south, but the reality is, there are a number of hospitals for sale already, and the way healthcare is going globally is that there's more and more consolidation,” he said during the media briefing.
NMC Healthcare's chief pointed out that standalone hospitals just don't work anymore.
“You've got to be part of a bigger group. You're seeing that in all industries, especially in healthcare. We have identified a number of opportunities to be able to acquire. We are looking at Dubai because most of our assets are in Abu Dhabi. We've only got one in the north and one in the south of Dubai, nothing in the middle. And most of our facilities in Dubai are low-premium facilities, not high-premium facilities.
"In Dubai, there are a lot of opportunities. We've identified a few, and hopefully sometime this year, we'll be able to announce that we're busy with some of these growth projects,” said Hadley.
