Ithmar directors resign from Al Noor Hospitals board

Directors of an Al Noor Hospitals founding shareholder resigned from its board on Thursday, severing ties with the group.

Faisal Belhoul and Khaldoun Haj Hasan, who were appointed by Astro II, resigned with immediate effect as is the standard procedure for board members who are no longer shareholders.

Astro II is a subsidiary of the private equity firm Ithmar Capital that sold its remaining 20 per cent stake in the hospitals operator. The deal is expected to bring it £216 million (Dh1.18 billion).

Mr Belhoul is the founder of Ithmar and the chairman of Amanat Holdings, a greenfield IPO aimed at education and healthcare markets. Mr Hasan is a co-founder and managing partner at Ithmar besides being the chief executive of Amanat Holdings.

“Ithmar have been excellent partners over the years, providing considerable support and advice,” said Sami Alom, the chief strategy officer at Al Noor Hospitals, in an interview last week. “The very nature of the private equity business model means that such organisations are not long-term investors.”

Shares of Noor Hospitals fell 2.41 per cent on the London Stock Exchange during the day and were trading at 871 pence. That is down from 991 pence a year ago.

Astro II was among the founding shareholders of Al Noor, helping to float its IPO in 2013.

In September, it sold a 7.3 per cent stake in Al Noor that was expected to net £87.5m for Ithmar. A few months later, it launched Amanat on the Dubai Financial Market, raising Dh1.3bn.