Virgin Care, a private provider of NHS services owned by the Virgin Group, has struck a deal worth £64m to run community child health services for the NHS in Wiltshire.

The five-year contract, set to start in April 2016, will see Virgin Care delivering specialist community nursing, health visits, and speech and language therapy in the county. The services are currently being provided by five NHS bodies.

Richard Branson’s company is rapidly extending its grip on the healthcare market, as NHS trusts pressured by tightening budgets put more services out to tender. The private health provider already has 330 NHS contracts.

Community services are expected to be one of the fastest growing areas for private providers in the healthcare market. LaingBuisson, the healthcare analysts, estimate the market for out-of-hospital services to be worth between £10bn and £20bn.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter

Related: Xerox partners with Trusts to help NHS “go paperless by 2020”