The management and administrators of NMC Healthcare have set out a new, three-year turnaround plan for the business that involves putting the hospital operator through an administration process in Abu Dhabi Global Markets Courts and raising $300m in additional funding from lenders.
Administrators are in the process of either selling or closing down most of its trading arm and are planning to exit several other businesses to concentrate on its core healthcare markets in the UAE and Oman.
"We made the decision that trading was not core and we wanted to divest it to get some value off it," Michael Davis, acting chief executive of NMC, told The National.
"We wanted to focus really on healthcare and not the trading side."
Three international businesses that make up about a quarter of its revenue – its Saudi Arabian joint venture, the UK-based Aspen Healthcare business and an IVF company that operates across Spain and Latin America – have all been deemed non-core and will be sold off either to repay debts or fund operations. Two of these, Aspen and the IVF company, Luarmia, are already generating "considerable interest from prospective buyers", according to the plan presented to stakeholders that has been seen by The National.
NMC Healthcare was founded by BR Shetty in 1975 and grew from a single hospital into the UAE’s biggest privately owned healthcare operator.
The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 and was valued at £8.58 billion (Dh40bn) at its peak. However, its shares plunged after short seller Muddy Waters Research issued a report in December 2019 alleging the company had inflated its cash balances, overpaid for assets and understated its debts.
In its turnaround plan presented to lenders, NMC said the discovery of fraud "on a massive scale" in the early part of this year significantly damaged its reputation and threatened its survival.
It was placed into administration in April with debts of $6.6bn, which was considerably more than the $2.1bn on its balance sheet.
"Significant cash has been extracted from the company, resulting in constrained liquidity and payment default to lenders and suppliers," NMC said in its turnaround plan.
Administrators from Alvarez & Marsal are continuing to investigate fraudulent activity at the firm.
"We have got a lot of material and in the near future we hope to launch some actions,” Maria Simovic, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal said. No action has been brought by the administrator against any party to date.
NMC's revival has also suffered as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Gross revenue increased 7 per cent in the first two months, but then dropped by 25 per cent between March and May and fell by 35 per cent at the peak of movement restrictions in April.
The company is forecasting full-year gross revenue at its core operations to be 16 per cent lower in 2020 as a result, but is expecting an 18 per cent revival in revenue and a 13 per cent increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in 2021 as it lowers its cost base.
NMC has managed to retain most of its staff despite a difficult period that has included the administration, reputational damage and a global pandemic.
“We still have close to 20,000 employees globally, we’ve got 2,000 physicians. In the UAE, [there are] between 13,000 and 15,000 employees and around 1,800 doctors,” Mr Davis said.
Administrators and management have also been faced with a number of legal claims.
Credit Europe Bank brought a claim in the DIFC Courts against Mr Shetty, NMC Healthcare and New Medical Centre Trading to recoup an $8m loan as security cheques provided by Mr Shetty defaulted. Mr Shetty denies writing the cheques, claiming the signatures are fraudulent.
Claims have also been filed by law firms in the US looking to bring class action suits on behalf of investors who held American Depsoitory Receipts in NMC Healthcare.
Ms Simovic said these claims are being dealt with on an individual basis.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Jetour T1 specs
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Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Key Points
- Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
- Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Most match wins on clay
Guillermo Vilas - 659
Manuel Orantes - 501
Thomas Muster - 422
Rafael Nadal - 399 *
Jose Higueras - 378
Eddie Dibbs - 370
Ilie Nastase - 338
Carlos Moya - 337
Ivan Lendl - 329
Andres Gomez - 322
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
FIGHT CARD
Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)
Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)
Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)
Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)
Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
Results
Stage 5:
1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Jumbo-Visma 04:19:08
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:03
3. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Sergio Higuita (COL) EF Education-Nippo 00:00:05
5. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:06
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 17:09:26
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:45
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:01:12
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Team Jumbo-Visma 00:01:54
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 00:01:56
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
More coverage from the Future Forum
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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Top goalscorers in Europe
34 goals - Robert Lewandowski (68 points)
34 - Ciro Immobile (68)
31 - Cristiano Ronaldo (62)
28 - Timo Werner (56)
25 - Lionel Messi (50)
*29 - Erling Haaland (50)
23 - Romelu Lukaku (46)
23 - Jamie Vardy (46)
*NOTE: Haaland's goals for Salzburg count for 1.5 points per goal. Goals for Dortmund count for two points per goal.
