Operations
The Optical Express group of companies formerly operated in a range of healthcare services including the optical and cosmetic industries under the brand names Optical Express, The Dental Clinic, The Cosmetic Clinic and Bridgewater Hospital. The company now focuses on refractive treatments and is the largest private provider in the UK and Ireland.[6]
In late 2022 the Optical Express clinics in Glasgow,[15] Dundee[16] and Inverness[17] were each rated “Exceptional” following inspections by HIS (Healthcare Improvement Scotland). In November 2022 the Birmingham Clinic received an “outstanding” rating from the CQC[18] (Care Quality Commission).
In January 2023 the Optical Express clinic in Aberdeen was also rated “exceptional” by HIS.[19]
The group was founded in 1991 by David Moulsdale[20] with one Optical Express branch based in Leith, Edinburgh.[21] The company grew steadily following its establishment, acquiring the 11 stores of Remocker Shapiro in 1995,[22] and the 65 stores of Specialeyes PLC in 1997.[23] These were followed in 2001 by 34 stores from Co-op Eyecare, and 14 more Scottish stores from Specdeals in 2002.[24]
Optical Express entered the refractive eye surgery market in 2002 when it acquired The Health Clinic which offered general ophthalmic procedures across slightly less than 20 locations in the UK. In 2004 it acquired the ophthalmic treatment assets of Boots Group plc from nine sites in the UK. As a result of the acquisitions, the 700 employees were transferred to Optical Express bringing the total number of employees to 2,300 for Optical Express.[25] The company did not acquire Boots' other optician assets.[26]
In 2004, Optical Express acquired two Free Vision Euro Eyes laser vision correction clinics in Amsterdam and The Hague,[27][28] marking the first large-scale UK optical chain to extend its laser vision correction business in the Netherlands. Optical Express acquired the dentistry and laser eye surgery services of Alliance Boots in 2005, trading under the name 'The Dental Clinic'.[29] These assets were sold in 2013.[30]
November 2013: A Competition Commission report into the merger of two rival companies reported that Optical Express share of the laser eye surgery market was nearly twice the size, and in intraocular lens surgery six times as big as both Optimax and Ultralase combined, the report concluded that the merger of Optimax and Ultralase would not lessen competition in the market.[26]
April 2014: A complaint by the company that rival Optimax had funded a protest website [31] owned by My Beautiful Eyes Foundation campaigner Sasha Rodoy was dismissed by Nominet.[32]
January 2015: The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced they were investigating claims that an artificial lens (MPlus X manufactured by Oculentis[33]) implanted into the eyes of thousands of patients had caused serious problems with distance vision.[34] Oculentis released a statement refuting allegations made in articles in the UK media about the lens causing severe vision loss, citing "significant factual innaccuracies" in the articles, claiming them to be "untrue" and "highly defamatory".[35] As of September 2016, no official inquiry into the lens has been launched in the UK.[36]
January 2015: following an article in the Observer newspaper and The Guardian online,[37] the Daily Mail published an article claiming that blindness could result from lens implant surgery.
The company provides home eye tests for patients with complex disabilities and low vision across most of Scotland.[38]
Currently the largest provider of laser eye surgery, lens replacement surgery and private cataract surgery in the UK, Optical Express continues to open new clinics and treatment centres including in Edinburgh and Belfast in 2022 with more planned throughout 2023 and beyond.
