Babylon has secured a sustainability-linked investment, from Albacore Capital Group, a strategic capital investment firm, providing up to £145.5m ($200m) in funding.
The new funding, to support its business growth plans, adds to funding already committed from investors, meaning Babylon will now have access to over £500 ($775m) million of capital.
Charlie Steel, Chief Financial Officer, Babylon commented on the announcement: “I am delighted that AlbaCore, with its steadfast focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) engagement, is investing in Babylon. ESG is central to Babylon’s mission which is to make quality healthcare accessible and affordable for every person on Earth. Whether we are delivering world class health care to the under-served populations of rural America and Rwanda, or committing to Tech Zero to reduce carbon emissions, as a team we are constantly challenging ourselves to do more and better. AlbaCore’s commitment to ESG makes it a perfect match for Babylon and I’m delighted to welcome them as an investor.
“With this investment, we have more guaranteed capital to fund the continued expansion of our business operations and membership base.”
Last month, HTN reported on Babylon Health’s financial and operating results for the six months ending 30 June 2021, including revenue growth of 472 per cent and reducing its loss for the period.
The company’s revenue totalled £93.1 million, up from £16.2 million for the period up to June 2020, an increase of 472 per cent year-over-year. Its loss for the first-half of its financial year came in at £54 million, down from £65 million in the first half of 2020.
In the published results, the company notes an increase of 55 per cent in users, to 8.2 million, and coverage increasing in the UK for its Babylon GP at Hand offering to over 102,000 on June 30, 2021, which the company says is “now the largest GP practice in the UK.”
The news comes as NHS England outlines a package of support aiming to ‘improve patient access to GP appointments’. According to NHS England, the plans include providing surgeries with ‘additional funding’ to ‘boost their capacity’ and enable them to offer more face-to-face appointments and urgent same-day care.
Described as a ‘package of assistance’, the document includes measures such as a £250 million winter access fund from NHS England. The NHS says this will enable GP practices to ‘improve availability’ so that ‘patients who need care can get it, often on the same day if needed’.
In other news, HTN reported last month on the news of Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Babylon partnering to deliver digital-first services.
