Over-50s company Saga has offloaded its Allied Healthcare business for £19 million.

The holiday and insurance group said it expects to make a small profit on the sale of the homecare company to Aurelius Group, a mid-market, pan-European investor.

It had owned the business since August 2011 when it bought it for £107 million.

However the Folkestone-based firm announced its intention to sell the business in January amid growing fears of cuts to local authority spending in the sector.

It had written down the value of the business to zero on its balance sheet.

It will make a one-off £10 million contribution to the Allied pension fund as part of the transaction.

Chief executive Lance Batchelor said: “Allied remains a market leader in the provision of domiciliary care to local authorities and the NHS.

“However, as outlined earlier this year, it does not fit with the Saga business model.

“I am therefore pleased to announce the successful completion of the sale process to Aurelius and I am confident this will be a good home for Allied.”

Saga retained Greenhill to act as financial adviser on the transaction.