ADVANCED COSMETIC Surgery, Ireland's biggest private provider of plastic surgery, has been taken over by a UK property developer which intends to build the Republic's first full-service cosmetic surgery clinic, writes Laura Slattery.

Helen Roocroft of Manchester-based property group Artisan Construction Group will become sole owner of Advanced Cosmetic Surgery's Irish assets.

These assets have been purchased as a going concern.

Ms Roocroft will mount a rescue for the ailing business, which is understood to have suffered a difficult trading period in the last six months.

The company hit the headlines last September when a patient died after undergoing an anti-obesity procedure.

Advanced will hold a creditors meeting next Tuesday.

The new owner plans to retain the 75 people Advanced whom employs in its rented offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast.

The business has written to its 23,000 Irish customers to inform them of the change of ownership.

It is understood that Carol Ainscow, the chief executive of Artisan Construction Group, will be a silent partner in the business.

Meanwhile, the day-to-day running will fall to a newly appointed managing director, Howard Lipsey.

"We are committed to making significant operational and infrastructural investment in the business," said Mr Lipsey.

This is expected to include the building of a dedicated clinic offering a full range of cosmetic procedures in the Dublin area, with the new owner investing €5-10 million in the business over the next three to five years.

Artisan has a track record of building nursing homes and health clinics in the UK.

The company will advertise for a medical director in the coming weeks.

Advanced's former owner, Halina Ashdown Shiels, is retiring from the business.

The last accounts filed by Advanced Cosmetic Surgery, for 2006, showed that the company was profitable.

However, it is carrying large historic losses, with its liabilities exceeding its assets by €2.4 million.