A Manchester-based national provider of occupational health services has been acquired by AIM-listed firm Marlowe in a deal worth £17.2m.
The London-headquartered business services aggregator has swooped for Healthwork, a firm founded in 2003 that employs 120 staff, in a deal that "adds significant scale" to Marlowe's occupational health offering.
Marlowe said the move will strengthen its position in the market - benefiting from strong structural growth and a range of characteristics such as non-discretionary spend, high barriers to entry and increased demand due to Covid-19.
Marlowe entered the occupational health market in March 2020 with the acquisition of Managed Occupational Health, and said Healthwork will become a platform for further acquisition-led growth. Key management will remain with the business going forward.
Healthwork generated operating profits of £2.6m on revenues of £10.4m in the year ending March 31, 2021.
The Fieldfisher team advising Marlowe on the deal was led by Manchester corporate associate Adam Jones, who said: "We are pleased to have worked with Marlowe on this latest acquisition to boost the company's position in the occupational health market.
"Covid-19 has upended the world of work, normalising remote working, accelerating automation and likely reinventing the role of the office as employers shift to hybrid working models and requiring them to adapt their occupational health models accordingly.
"This is a timely acquisition for Marlowe with a return to offices potentially just around the corner."
Alex Dacre, chief executive of Marlowe plc, said: "The acquisition of Healthwork significantly deepens our scale and capabilities in occupational health and strengthens our position as the UK leader in regulated safety and compliance services to organisations of all sizes.
"With identified synergies between Healthwork and our other occupational health and health & safety activities we are confident that this acquisition will generate attractive returns for Marlowe's shareholders.
"Our pipeline of further earnings enhancing acquisition opportunities remains buoyant and we expect to report on further progress in the coming weeks."
