£13m deal agreed to acquire healthcare services provider

Pioneer Healthcare, a Sheffield-headquartered independent provider of specialist NHS secondary care services, is being acquired for up to £13m.

It is being bought by Derby-based Totally plc, a provider of frontline healthcare services, corporate fitness and wellbeing services across the UK and Ireland.

Pioneer Healthcare delivers insourcing and outsourcing services across a range of surgical and medical specialities to NHS patients and holds contracts with NHS Foundation Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), predominantly across the North of England.

The business, which was incorporated in 2007, is led by three senior NHS consultants, Hesham Zaki, Professor Prasad Godbole and John McMullan. They will continue to hold senior leadership roles within the business following the acquisition.

Based on unaudited management accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021, Pioneer generated revenue of £5.13m and profit before tax of £0.80m. Its gross assets at 31 March 2021 were £2.82m.

Pioneer Healthcare and Totally Healthcare, which forms Totally’s Insourcing division, will be brought together to create a single, established, provider of insourcing and outsourcing services under the Pioneer brand.

Wendy Lawrence, CEO of Totally, said: This is our second acquisition in three months, demonstrating our commitment to growing the business, delivering enhanced shareholder value through our ‘buy and build’ strategy and moving into areas where we know demand for services is outstripping current capacity.

“The acquisition creates new opportunities for the Group and will ensure we can continue giving vital support to the NHS as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Pioneer’s services closely complement those provided by Totally Healthcare. The combined insourcing and outsourcing business will benefit from its stronger footprint across the UK and Ireland and the additional significant experience of the Pioneer leadership team.”

Pioneer Health Care International Limited, a company with overseas operations in which some of the vendors have an interest, is not part of the acquisition.

The consideration for the acquisition deal is on a cash-free and debt-free basis. It is to be paid 80% in cash, while the remaining 20% will be satisfied by the issue of new ordinary shares in Totally.

£6.9m is payable on completion, on a cash-free and debt-free basis, and up to £6.1m is payable on a deferred basis, based on the financial performance of Pioneer in the year ending 31 March 2022.

Completion is expected to take place on or around 10 March 2022.

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