Technology and services

Supporting the delivery of state-of-the art healthcare facilities in Spain

Macquarie Asset Management has worked with leading healthcare group Viamed to drive its growth and sustainability agenda.

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Sector Healthcare
Sub-sector Hospitals
Location Spain

Opportunity

Viamed is a private healthcare group, with more than 2,300 healthcare professionals based at 12 acute care hospitals and 15 outpatient and specialist healthcare facilities across Spain.

Private healthcare in Spain is on an upward growth trajectory; one in four of the population, around 12 million people, have private health insurance.1 In this growing market, patients are seeking providers with a focus on top-quality service, modern facilities and the latest medical-surgical technologies. Viamed is focused on meeting this need in underserved communities where there are currently few or no other private healthcare services.

It is also committed to delivering services in the most sustainable way possible. Healthcare services are estimated to account for 4.5 per cent of total national greenhouse gas emissions. Spain’s national and regional governments have endorsed Europe’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality in the sector by 2050. Therefore, as the sector continues to grow, sustainability is an increasingly critical consideration.

Viamed CEO, Paulo Gonçalves, and Macquarie’s Juan Caño reflect on Viamed’s growth and decarbonisation journey, including the installation of a green hydrogen plant at one of its hospitals in Murcia.


Approach

Drawing on our global green energy expertise, Macquarie has worked with Viamed to improve its sustainability, including through the installation of a green hydrogen plant at its hospital in Murcia - the first in Europe to benefit from the technology.

The plant can autonomously produce green oxygen on-site, which has the potential to be used for medicinal purposes. Viamed is awaiting approval from authorities to supply the oxygen to patients, which we anticipate will be granted in 2024.  

Macquarie is also supporting Viamed with the implementation of its wider ESG agenda, including improved governance, patient quality of care, workplace health and safety, and activities to help meet the Board’s commitment to reach net zero by 2030.

Outcome

The green hydrogen facility commenced operations in October 2023 to provide heating and hot water to the hospital using the first boiler of its kind in Europe. The plant allows the hospital to become more self-sufficient in meeting heating and water needs, reducing the risk of adverse situations from reliance on external parties, while aiming to unlock similar benefits for its oxygen supply in future.

The hospital estimates annual savings of €16,000 on natural gas and €29,000 from oxygen acquisition from 2025, as well as an estimated 135tn of CO2 emission savings per year from 2024.

The Murcia hospital is one of the smaller hospitals in Viamed’s portfolio, but the successful implementation of its hydrogen plant provides a model for potentially rolling out the technology across other hospitals around the country.

Viamed has doubled its revenue since Macquarie’s acquisition in 2020, through organic growth, greenfield developments and bolt-on acquisitions. The company has invested in state-of-the-art facilities, as well as purchased best in class equipment and technology suitable for leading medical teams.

135tn of CO2e

estimated savings per year at Murcia hospital

2,300

healthcare professionals

1,200,000

patients treated in 2023

Viamed is operating with the utmost professionalism and entrepreneurialism, to establish hospitals and healthcare facilities that are acknowledged as safe, sustainable and reliable. Building on our 20 years of experience investing in Spain, Macquarie is proud to be supporting Viamed as it builds scale and delivers top-tier healthcare solutions across the country, while paving new pathways to decarbonise the sector.”

Juan Caño
Managing Director
Macquarie Asset Management