Oops... They’ve done it again

Magnier, McManus and Desmond’s latest multibillion-euro deal will lead to healthy bank balances for all involved in British firm Barchester

JP McManus, Dermot Desmond and John Magnier poured money into Barchester from the very beginning

British company Barchester Healthcare started in 1994 with Auntie Ivy and Aunty Lilly, two elderly relations of former advertising executive Mike Parsons. After a turbulent two decades, it could end with a billion-pound payout for three of Ireland’s richest men, John Magnier, JP McManus and Dermot Desmond.

Barchester, it was announced in recent days, has appointed corporate advisers from giant investment bank JP Morgan to seek buyers for the nursing home group, and ...