3i, the private equity firm, last month stormed back into the healthcare sector in Leeds with its £174.5m purchase of Ultralase, a leading UK specialist in laser eye treatment, from Corporación Dermoestética, the Spanish plastic surgery provider.

Before the sale, London-based 3i was already busy in Yorkshire as owner of Bradford-based Multigraphics, a specialist in large-format printing, and as the leading minority shareholder of AES Engineering, a manufacturer of mechanical seals used in industrial pumps.