SHL Group announced today that it has de-listed from the Stock Exchange and will now be known as SHL Group Limited. Following the successful management buy-out, a new chairman has been appointed along with 2 new board members. The move to de-list SHL and bring the company into private ownership was driven by the desire to invest in the long-term future of the company and was fully supported by the board of directors.

Chris Sandham joins SHL as the new Chairman having previously led the buy-out of Castlebeck Care Group, a specialist provider of psychiatric services. Prior to this he was responsible for global HR at Grand Metropolitan (now Diageo) and also served as CEO of the Priory Healthcare Group, Europe's leading group of psychiatric hospitals. He will be joining existing senior management team members John Bateson, Emma Lancaster and Kevin Kerrigan on the newly formed Board.

The public-to-private transaction has been financed by HgCapital, an independent provider of private equity finance to European companies. In the last 15 years the company has invested around 1.5bn in over 80 businesses. HgCapital will have two non-executive directors, Lisa Stone and Robin Lincoln, join the board of directors at SHL Group.

A former management consultant, Lisa has been with HgCapital for seven years following her role as director of strategy and business planning at LucasVarity. Robin joined HgCapital in 2001 from ISIS Private Equity.

SHL Group chairman, Chris Sandham, said: "No longer being subject to the pressures of the Stock Exchange or the understandably shorter-term demands of shareholders, SHL Group will be free to invest in future growth. Our major focus will be on building our business, considering relevant new opportunities and significantly developing our technology to underpin new initiatives."

John Bateson, CEO of SHL Group added: "We are investing in the future of our customers and they can expect continued excellence of service. This is just the start of a very exciting chapter in the history of SHL."