Magic circle firms Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy (A&O) are advising private hospital group Spire Healthcare on its planned initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.

Spire, the second largest private hospital chain in the UK, operates 39  hospitals and 13 clinics across England, Wales and Scotland. The group was founded in 2007, when it acquired and rebranded 25 Bupa hospitals.

The Spire float, which was announced today (25 June), is set to raise approximately £315 million, which the group will use to reduce outstanding debts.

The Freshfields team is being led by capital markets partners Mark Austin and Doug Smith, and corporate partners David Higgins and Victoria Sigeti. Austin has previously worked on IPOs for the likes of Poundland, Arrow Global and Pizza Express owners Gondola Holdings, while Smith has acted for Perform, Betfair and Promethean on their recent floats.

Last year, Freshfields was among a group of firms leading on a £700m refinancing deal for Spire, which involved the sale and leaseback of 12 of its UK hospitals to a consortium of international investors. Spire's net debt fell from £1.4bn to £700m as a result of the deal.

A&O is advising the underwriting banks on the IPO, JP Morgan Cazenove, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.