New private hospital coming to millionaire hotspot in South Africa
Life Healthcare Group is set to open a new hospital in Paarl in the Western Cape, with the group committing R722 million in capital expenditure in the six months ending March 2026.
Life Paarl Valley Hospital will open its doors in the second half of 2027. The new acute hospital will have 140 beds and will have a lodge-style setting.
Life Paarl Valley Hospital is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in the second half of 2027.
The hospital is located on the corner of Fraaigelegen Road and the R301 between Paarl and Franschhoek, between Boschenmeer Golf and Val de Vie Lifestyle estates.
The hospital will also include a cardiac catheterisation laboratory, which will be the only cardiac facility in the area.
In addition to the new hospital, the group is also working on several expansion projects at existing facilities across its portfolio, as highlighted in its interim results for the six months ending March.
These include additional acute beds and specialised facilities, “designed to respond to the shifting disease profiles and growing demand for complex care.”
The group said that it has continued to expand its complementary services by improving high-demand offerings in acute rehabilitation, advanced diagnostic imaging, and renal dialysis.
Life Healthcare reported progress on its cyclotron infrastructure investment. These initiatives aim to support a more “integrated, patient-centred care model” and increase access to specialised services.
“Our focus is on building capacity where it is needed most, improving utilisation across our network and advancing our optimisation programme to strengthen returns,” said Life Healthcare Group CEO Peter Wharton-Hood.
“Encouragingly, we saw a meaningful recovery in activity in the second quarter, reflecting the underlying resilience of our business. We remain confident in our strategy and our ability to deliver sustainable growth over the medium term,” he said.
The group’s revenue increased by 2.4% to R12,4 billion, while normalised EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) increased by 5.2% to R2 billion.
The improved normalised EBITDA, according to the group, was driven by disciplined cost management and a continued focus on efficiency and earnings quality.
Life Healthcare’s operating profit before non-trading items and normalised earnings per share (EPS) both increased by 8.4%, bringing the EPS to 53.1 cents.
When looking at standard reporting figures, the group swung from a total comprehensive loss of R2.2 billion in H125 to a profit of R771 million in H126.
The healthcare group also declared a 9.5% increase in its interim cash dividend of 23.0 cents per share.
| Financial Metric | H1-2026 (R’m) | H1-2025 (R’m) | H1-2025 Pro forma (R’m) | Change% from pro-forma |
| Revenue | 12 422 | 12 133 | 12 133 | 2.4 |
| Normalised EBITDA | 1 957 | 1 861 | 1 861 | 5.2 |
| Operating profit/(loss) | 1 248 | (1 708) | 1 212 | 3.0 |
| Profit/(loss) before tax | 1 099 | (1 789) | 1 131 | (2.8) |
| Profit/(loss) from continuing operations attributable to ordinary equity holders | 725 | (2 153) | 767 | (5.5) |
| Profit/(loss) from discontinued operation (LMI) | 46 | (67) | 236 | |
| Profit/(loss) after tax attributable to ordinary equity holders | 771 | (2 220) | 1 003 | (23.1) |
| EPS from continuing operations (cents) | 49.6 | (150.6) | 52.2 | (5.0) |
| EPS from discontinued operation (LMI) (cents) | 3.2 | (4.6) | 16.4 | |
| EPS from total operations (cents) | 52.8 | (155.2) | 68.6 | (23.0) |
| HEPS from continuing operations (cents) | 51.9 | (152.2) | 50.6 | 2.6 |
| EPS from discontinued operation (LMI) (cents) | 3.2 | (3.6) | 17.4 | |
| HEPS from total operations (cents) | 55.1 | (155.8) | 68.0 | (19.0) |
Developing its South African portfolio
Life Healthcare has expanded its reach through acquisitions and partnerships, but in recent years, it has consolidated its operations and returned its focus to Southern Africa.
Over the last five years, the company has systematically exited its European and international businesses to streamline its focus.
The latest sale, completed in 2025, involved Life Molecular Imaging (LMI), an integrated radiopharmaceutical company, which was sold to the US-based company Lantheus for approximately R13.9 billion.
Prior to this, Life Healthcare had also sold off other significant international operations, including Scanmed in Poland in 2021 and Alliance Medical Group in 2024.
With the sale of LMI finalised, Life Healthcare can now refocus its efforts on Southern Africa, where it has ambitious expansion plans.
Life Healthcare originally acquired LMI from Piramal in 2018, establishing a pre-existing arrangement between the two parties.
Under this agreement, once LMI’s cumulative management EBITDA became positive, Piramal would receive 50% of it annually until 30 June 2028, with a maximum payment of $200 million (around R3.29 billion).
Additionally, the deal stipulated that if a sale occurred, the net proceeds from the disposal would be added to the management EBITDA when calculating any liability owed to Piramal in that year.
This obligation came due in 2025, resulting in a R2.92 billion charge for Life Healthcare.
In a similar manner, LMI’s management incentive scheme liability was also remeasured upon the sale of the business, leading to an additional charge of R303 million in 2025.
Currently, 100% of the group’s non-current operating assets, valued at around R13.98 billion, are located exclusively in Southern Africa, with operations spanning South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.
Images and renderings of Life Paarl Valley Hospital
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