Revenue rose by 6.2% due to strong NHS and demand and private patient growth.

Justin Ash, group chief executive of Spire Healthcare, said: ‘We are pleased that NHS referrals accelerated to 8.8% growth.

‘We responded to that demand and ensured our focus was on high acuity procedures.

‘While this did lead to a margin impact from a higher NHS mix in the second half, driving our capacity utilisation was the right thing to do.'

The healthcare provider reported a 15% rise in its primary care business.

Ash warned of a £30m hit to earnings in the year ahead, however, driven by a rise in National Insurance and Minimum Wage costs.

The chief executive pledged to ‘neutralise costs and margin challenges by 2027'.

Looking to the mid-term, he said: ‘We continue to expect 5% growth in our hospitals, maximising private mix in price and high acuity work with the NHS.'

Spire Healthcare expects primary care to be an at least £40m business in the medium term.