THE expected sale of the Priory Group, which acquired its first North-East facility in March, is going ahead.

Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which owns a majority stake in the Priory Group, is hoping to raise about £1bn from the sale.

RBS, which has not commented, is understood to have given potential bidders until the middle of next month to submit indicative offers.

The group took ownership of Middleton St George Hospital, near Darlington, after receiving Office of Fair Trading approval to buy Affinity Healthcare Group in March.

The hospital, which opened an eating disorders service in January, has 80 beds and includes a low-security unit, psychiatric intensive care unit and intensive rehabilitation unit.

The group declined to comment, but sources revealed that it was considered “business as usual”.

A sale was first mooted in May after RBS plans for a stock market flotation were shelved because of turmoil in global equity markets.