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Fieldfisher has advised AIM-listed business services specialist Marlowe on a deal to buy Healthwork (incorporated as Gel Limited), a Manchester-based national provider of occupational health services, for £17.2 million.
Founded in 2003, Healthwork employs approximately 120 staff, including over 80 clinical professionals.
The acquisition of Healthwork adds significant scale to Marlowe's current occupational health offering of employee mental health, wellbeing and health surveillance services and offers synergies with Marlowe's wider Governance, Risk and Compliance division.
It strengthens Marlowe's position in occupational health, a market benefiting from strong structural growth and a range of attractive 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 Healthwork will become a platform for further acquisition-led growth within this space. Key management will remain with the business.
For the year ended 31 March 2021, Healthwork generated operating profits of £2.6 million on revenues of £10.4 million.
The Fieldfisher team advising Marlowe is led by Manchester partner David Bowcock assisted by corporate associate, Adam Jones, who led on the Healthwork deal:
Commenting on the acquisition, Adam 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."
JMW Solicitors LLP (Mark Heppell and Gemma Hewett) acted for the sellers.
About Fieldfisher
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