London and Edinburgh, 1 February 2023
Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP (Cairngorm Capital) is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, E-zec Medical Transport Services (E-zec) has merged with ERS Transition Limited (trading as ERS Medical). The partnership creates the UK’s stand-out industry leader in the provision of non-emergency patient transport services1 to the NHS and local authorities. The enlarged business serves more than 50 commissioning bodies with the support of 2,500 specialist employees, from 55 operational sites nationwide. In 2022, the combined business generated revenues in excess of £100m.
ERS Medical provides patient transport, medical courier and GP out of hours services to over 40 NHS and healthcare customers across the UK. In 2022, it completed approximately 700,000 patient journeys and transported over 10 million pathology samples. E-zec provides patient transport, mental health and specialist transport services to local authorities and in 2022, delivered over 720,000 patient journeys.
This partnership is strategically important to both companies and given the breadth of their service expertise, is highly complementary. It delivers considerable geographical expansion, with near national coverage and an extension to their respective services. Importantly, it provides the platform to drive innovation and future growth – facilitating the sharing of operational and service best-in-class initiatives, and the development of new services, for the benefit of customers, commissioners and service users.
Andrew Pooley, ERS Medical’s owner and Chief Executive leaves the business to pursue other interests. Jeroen van Os, remains with the business and is appointed as Group Chief Commercial Officer, working with Craig Smith, Group Chief Executive Officer and the wider executive team to integrate the two businesses and to realise the growth potential that this partnership offers.
Jeroen van Os, who becomes the group’s Chief Commercial Officer said, “The team at ERS Medical set out to be the leading healthcare transport provider in the UK and have achieved significant growth over the last 5 years. To help unlock our future potential, we have taken the decision to partner with E-zec. Both businesses are specialists in non-emergency transport services and share a commitment to deliver high quality, people-oriented services. This naturally creates the foundations for a strong partnership, enabling the delivery of best-in-class services to our customers, patients and provides further opportunities for all colleagues. I look forward joining the executive team and delivering our next phase of growth.”
Craig Smith, E-zec’s Chief Executive Officer added, “We are delighted to welcome ERS to our family. The health and social care sectors are undergoing rapid change and our partnership will truly help us to support those in our communities who need us the most. We have much in common, with a shared ethos and culture of care. This is an obvious partnership that strengthens our offering to our employees, customers and patients, while also giving us a platform for further growth. We have much to learn from each other and are excited about the next phase of our growth.”
Dr Amit Thaper, who led Cairngorm Capital’s team on this investment, commented, “Since acquiring E-zec in May 2021, we have established a very strong management team and expanded our range of services, all while improving services for patients. ERS is a business that is highly regarded by its customers and service users. The combination of E-zec and ERS is strategically compelling and creates the industry leader within specialist clinical transport services, to the benefit of our customers and service users. We are making significant investments which will allow the company to achieve its ambitions for growth and we look forward to supporting Craig and his team in the delivery of their growth plan.”
Cairngorm Capital and E-zec were advised on this transaction by BDO (financial and tax), Gowling WLG (legal), Drystone Strategy (commercial), Specialist Risk Group (insurance) and Intechnica (IT). ERS Medical was advised by Francis Clark LLP (corporate finance), GA Solicitors (property) and Foot Anstey (legal).
For further information, please contact Katherine Ritchie on 020 8347 6183 or 07941 040021
Notes for editors
- Health and social care sectors are undergoing considerable change, driven by the demographics of an ageing population, the need to relieve the pressure on acute services and the focus to increase the delivery of personalised care within the community. Non-emergency patient transport is an essential part of the NHS value chain that allows individuals living within the community to access health services and ensures that NHS resources are optimised by reducing missed or late appointments.
Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP is a specialist private investment firm owned entirely by its senior executives providing equity capital and management expertise to leading UK companies. It invests in strongly-performing, private mid-market growth companies with long-term growth potential, operating in manufacturing, distribution and services industries. The firm’s goal is to build and realise value through growth and performance improvements. Cairngorm Capital’s unique mix of sectoral expertise and investment skill enables it to be actively involved in the strategy and operational focus of portfolio companies, partnering with management teams to grow revenue, enhance margins, improve cash flow or consolidate industry leadership positions.
Cairngorm Capital’s current portfolio includes majority owned stakes in:
E-zec Medical
Independent Builders Merchants Group
MRO+ Solutions Group
Millbrook Healthcare
National Timber Group
PaintWell
SageHome
Sentry Doors
Verso Wealth Management
Whyte Bikes
E-zec is the market leader of non-emergency patient transport services to the NHS, local authorities and the private sector. With a fleet of over 550 vehicles, the company provides 720,000 patient journeys to healthcare settings annually, including specialist high dependency and secure transport teams. In addition, it supports local authorities with special educational and disability needs transport solutions for their school systems. Headquartered in Redhill, E-zec employs 1,400 specialist staff across 31 locations.
e-zec.co.uk
ERS provides patient transport, medical courier and GP out of hours services to over 40 NHS and healthcare customers across the UK. In 2022, its fleet of 565 vehicles completed approximately 700,000 patient journeys and transported over 10 million pathology samples. Headquartered in Leeds, ERS employs 1,200 specialist staff across 24 locations.
ersmedical.co.uk
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