Private equity company Cardinal Capital Group has invested €30m into Cathedral Eye Clinic, which operates specialist eye-surgery clinics in Belfast and Birmingham.
This will allow the company to expand its clinics in Ireland, Northern Ireland and England.
It now plans to build a new ophthalmology clinic in Belfast, doubling the surgery capacity of its existing clinic there.
The group is also planning a new ophthalmology unit for Dublin and a new clinic in England.
"Ireland North and South is already underserved by ophthalmology clinics, leading to unnecessarily long waiting lists, and the fourth lowest number of cataracts per head of population in the EU," said John Dolan, managing director at Cardinal Capital.
"With our aging populations on both sides of the border demand for eye surgeries is set to grow significantly.
"Working in partnership Cathedral Eye Clinic and Cardinal will develop the most advanced group of ophthalmology clinics on the island to meet this growing need," he added.
Johnny Moore, founder of Cathedral Eye Clinic, stressed how important it was to find the right partner for its expansion.
"Given Cardinal Capital's deep sectoral knowledge and its track record with the Sports Surgery Clinic, where it doubled capacity, it was clear from the outset that Cardinal was, and is, the right partner for us," he said.
"I am very excited about our new Belfast facilities and about our plans to bring our experience and expertise south of the border," he added.
The move will see Cardinal gain a majority stake in Cathedral Eye Clinic.
