NHS backlogs and digitalisation are the two key themes of our March snapshot. View our summary of the key M&A activity within the UK healthcare market in March 2022 below.
Notable Sector Deals
Totally’s acquisition of Pioneer Healthcare
The first of two major deals announced in March involving providers of insourcing and outsourcing services to the NHS
An EV of up to £13m (£6.1m of which is linked to a short term earnout) looks high for a business that only generated £0.8m of PBT in the year to March 2021, but the business is likely to have seen significant growth over the last 12 months as COVID restrictions have eased
By leveraging Pioneer’s “Any Qualified Provider” status, the combination with Totally’s existing insourcing division will allow NHS patients to select the business as their preferred elective provider
Acquisition of 18 Week Support by Summit Partners
Another significant transaction involving a provider of insourcing services to the NHS, 18 Week Support
With the business’ strong position in the market, generating £29.6m of revenue and underlying EBITDA of c.£4.7m in the year to March 2021, Summit Partners clearly recognise the opportunity for growth
With NHS waiting lists continuing to grow and expected to reach more than 10 million for elective care procedures by 2024, outsourcing and insourcing providers will play a key role in addressing the issue
We expect to see further deals in this sector as a result
Investment into Nourish Care by LivingBridge
LivingBridge’s investment into Nourish, a digital care planning platform, will support the continued rapid expansion of the business
Already serving over 300 care providers across more than 1,800 settings, Nourish is well positioned to benefit from the drive towards digitalisation of care records
With a significant proportion of social care providers still relying on paper records and ambitious government targets to rectify this, established digital providers such as Nourish are likely to experience significant growth in the short to medium term
SourceBio’s acquisition of LD Path
A truly strategic acquisition for SourceBio, providing a digital pathology solution which can materially reduce reporting timeframes
The pathology market has been slower to digitalise and move to remote reporting than other markets such as radiology, but LDPath’s technology could be a significant step in transforming the market
The platform will be a key tool in reducing pathology waiting lists which have been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic
With day one consideration of £18.5m and an earnout of up to £15m, it is a significant price for a business making £0.4m of EBITDA, but may well prove to be a very wise investment given the growth opportunities
Healthcare Market Activity
Private Equity Activity
Sub-sector | Target | Acquirer / Investor | Exiting PE |
Specialist Care | Blue Ribbon | Queen's Park Equity | N/A |
NHS Insourcing / Outsourcing | 18 Week Support | Summit Partners | N/A |
Domiciliary Care | CSN Care Group | Clece Care Services | BGF |
Specialist Care | Care Without Comprimise | Choice Care (Icon Infrastructure) | N/A |
Medtech | Nourish Care | LivingBridge | N/A |
Medical Devices | Prism Medical | Charme Capital | Limerston |
Elderly Care | Lovett Care | HIG Capital | N/A |
Venture Capital Activity
Target | Description | Lead Investor | Investment |
Cumulus Oncology | Oncology drug development accelerator | Eos Advisory | £4.1m |
MIP Diagnostics | Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Technology for use in diagnostic devices | Mercia BGF Calculus Downing | £7.3m |
Ocutec | Development and commercialisation of soft contact lenses | Deepbridge | £1.5m |
Ocushield | Medically-rated screen protectors to fit everyday devices | Rubix Ventures | £1m |
Lantum | Healthcare workforce management platform | Finch Capital | $15m |