On a care hunt

What was the deal?

The sale of Providence Projects, a Bournemouth-based residential rehab centre, to UK Addiction Treatment (UKAT) Group. Providence, which was established in 1996, provides lower-priced treatment for drug, alcohol and behavioural addictions. UKAT is one of the UK’s biggest providers of private residential addiction treatment services. Sullivan Street Equity Partners, a special situation investor, bought UKAT in 2024, as a buy-and-build platform in the addiction treatment space. Completed in July 2025, the Providence sale took four months from preparation to completion. The speed of the transaction was testament to Sullivan Street and UKAT’s ability to move quickly. Other factors, such as incoming CGT changes, also accelerated timescales.

How were you introduced to the deal?

When I joined S&W in 2023, we were already speaking with Providence about a potential exit; the referral came via an intermediary one of the partners had worked with on a prior transaction. The company was family owned. CEO Paul Spanjar, his wife Louise and their son were the only shareholders and they were looking to sell. The first part of our engagement was working on strategy and an exit plan – either selling to trade or private equity. But with Paul looking to exit the business on completion, the private equity route would have required an MBI, which would be difficult to pull off for this type of business.

Why was UKAT the preferred bidder?

It was important for Paul that Providence find a good home. Lots of smaller rehab facility operators in the UK have fewer than 10 beds, whereas UKAT had more than 200 and Providence 44. Our shareholders knew the CEO of UKAT, Daniel Gerrard, who was confident there were complementary synergies between the two businesses. The deal created a ‘step-up step-down’ model, whereby Providence, which specialises in non-complex cases, could refer its more complex cases to UKAT, and vice versa.

For Providence, it wasn’t just price that made them opt for UKAT – it was their ability to deliver the transaction as well.

Who were the advisers?

We were the lead corporate finance adviser, advising on the exit strategy and the deal process. Paris Smith, a local law firm with offices in Bournemouth, Southampton and Winchester, were Providence’s legal advisers. On the Sullivan side, RSM carried out the due diligence, PwC took care of tax work and Taylor Wessing provided legal advice. Digital bank OakNorth, which is increasingly active in M&A, provided UKAT with the finance to back its buy-and-build strategy.

What was the opportunity for UKAT?

Sullivan Street will be looking for other UK acquisitions for UKAT, and I’d imagine they are looking overseas, at Europe, as well. There are obviously different regulations and different levels of government support for the private pay therapy market, depending on the country, but the principles of treatment are broadly the same, subject to regulation.

And the lessons from the deal?

Providence has a small team of therapists, but we had to be sure they would continue to be motivated by the new owners. Paul wasn’t involved in the day-to-day running of the business – he was more of a strategic head. Because he wanted to step away from the business, it was important to ensure that the business was going to the right home.

Explaining who was taking this business on, and the people they might bring in, added a different dynamic.

The CV

Oliver Aspinall joined Deloitte in Manchester in 2016, where he trained as an ACA in its audit team. He then moved with the firm to Vancouver, Canada, where he joined the M&A advisory team, initially working in value-creation services. He returned to the UK in October 2023 to join S&W in London as a corporate finance manager.