Doctors head for Ofex listing

An all-year-round home doctor service, Doctors Direct, is coming to the Ofex market for fledgling companies to raise up to £1m and value the business at £3.1m.

An all-year-round home doctor service, Doctors Direct, is coming to the Ofex market for fledgling companies to raise up to £1m and value the business at £3.1m.

The money raised will be used to expand its services and fund an initial two-year plan to expand its network of mobile doctors and consultants in London and other parts of the UK.

As well as selling 2.5 million new ordinary shares at 40p each, directors are selling a further 375,000 existing shares.

Doctors Direct has grown rapidly on the back of demand from corporate customers who use the company's services to attend sick employees at home – a practice which has given rise to accusations that it was checking to make sure they really were ill.

Established in 1993, Doctors Direct provides primary health care in the home, office or hotel for corporations and private individuals. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and aims to visit patients in central London within 60 to 90 minutes of a call. Callout charges are £80 during the day and up to £100 at night and weekends. Fees increase for outer-London postcodes and over national holidays.

Andrew McCance, the chief executive, said: "The ongoing crisis in the NHS and increased patient expectations sets the scene for significant changes in the delivery of primary health care."