Osborne Clarke advises the shareholders of Fortius Group on its sale

International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised the shareholders of Fortius Group Limited on the sale of the company, the UK’s single largest orthopaedic group with an international reputation in orthopaedics and MSK, to Affidea Group, the leading European provider of diagnostic imaging, outpatient and cancer care services.

Fortius clinic was founded in 2009 by a group of like-minded clinicians with a vision to create a worldwide centre of excellence in musculoskeletal care. After 12 years of successful growth, Fortius is now the largest single group of orthopaedic and MSK consultants in Europe, with more than 90 leading specialists, and ranks among the top 20 orthopaedic groups in the world. It operates three outpatient and diagnostic clinics in central London, as well as the Fortius Surgical Centre and a specialist Joint Replacement Centre in partnership with Bupa.

Jim McAvoy, CEO of Fortius, said: "Tim Birt and his team at Osborne Clarke have been long-standing legal advisors to Fortius. Throughout each stage of the transaction they acted as a true partner, providing us with really high-quality support and guidance. We look forward to them continuing to look after our interests as we pursue further growth as part of the Affidea group.”

The Osborne Clarke team was led by Corporate Partners Tim Birt and Tom Try, Associate Director Jonathan Falconer, Associate Krish Mistry and Trainee Solicitor Eric Edwin in the Corporate team. Additional support was also received from Partner Mathew Oliver (Tax), Partner Nick Simpson (Real estate) Associate Director James Hamon (Tax) and Trainee Solicitor Kirsty Poulton (Tax).

Osborne Clarke’s Corporate team is considered a go-to practice for many companies in the life sciences and healthcare sectors, working with global businesses to fast-growth start-ups and market challengers. The team advises at every stage of company development across all corporate issues, from equity and debt fundraisings to M&A, IPOs and JVs. This is the latest in a series of transactions the team has advised on in the wider life sciences and healthcare sector with team also having recently advised the shareholders of Lucid Group, a leading healthcare communications company, on the sale of the company to Intermediate Capital Group.