Hospedia

The story of Hospedia begins not with its own founding, but with a company called Patientline, established in 1993. Patientline's mission was to install personal television and telephone systems at every NHS hospital bedside, a venture funded by charging patients for entertainment and calls. Despite investing heavily—around £150 million—and installing tens of thousands of units, the business model proved challenging. High operating costs and lower-than-expected patient usage led to significant financial trouble. The pivotal moment came in July 2008, when Patientline, burdened with debt, entered administration. From its collapse, a new company named Hospedia was formed. In a strategic move, Hospedia, initially owned by Patientline's creditor banks like HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, acquired the struggling company's assets. This acquisition included over 65,000 bedside terminals, giving Hospedia a dominant market position from day one. Under the new leadership of CEO Tim Weil, previously from competitor Premier Telesolutions, Hospedia aimed to succeed where Patientline had failed. The company was soon acquired by private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners in August 2010. This acquisition provided the capital to upgrade the technology and expand services beyond just entertainment to include clinical workflow and patient engagement tools. The journey continued with another acquisition in 2021, when Volaris Group, through its subsidiary WiFi SPARK, took ownership with a vision to shift the business model away from patient-pays to a system funded by NHS Trusts and charities.