One of the largest independent occupational health firms in the region has been snapped up by a safety and compliance giant.
Norfolk and Suffolk-based Wrightway Health was acquired by Marlowe plc in a £4.5m deal.
Wrightway — which has a head office in Norwich and clinics across Great Yarmouth, Kings Lynn, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge — was launched in 2013 and provides occupational health services to businesses in the east and south east of England.
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Wrightway managing director Alison Mackway said Marlowe had “some ambitious plans that will be exciting to be part of moving forward”.
“It’s been a fantastic journey developing and growing Wrightway Health. We have a great team around us, and we see this acquisition as an exciting opportunity for all of them as well as ourselves,” she said.
Marlowe — which provides services to more than 15% of Britain’s commercial premises — said it had paid an initial acquisition sum of £3.5m but the total enterprise value was expected to be in the region of £4.5m including a 12 month contingent cash earn-out of around £1m.
In the year ending April 30, 2020, Wrightway generated an adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £0.7m on revenues of £2.7m.
Regional accountants Lovewell Blake worked alongside law firm Ashtons Legal on the deal.
Wrightway, which has its head office in Norwich, was established in 2013 and provides occupational health services to businesses in the east and southeast of England.
Ms Mackway said: “Preparing for this we have worked with teams at local firms Lovewell Blake and Ashtons Legal, both of whom have been incredibly professional and hugely supportive.”
Matt Crawley, corporate finance partner at Lovewell Blake, said: “This is a strong vote of confidence in a successful East Anglian company which has proved to be an attractive prospect for one of the UK’s leading players in the safety and regulatory compliance field.
“We are delighted to have helped maximise the value for Wrightway’s owners, as well as securing a strong future for the firm.”
David Sloman, who headed the Ashtons Legal team advising Wrightway Health, said: “We are delighted to have been supporting the team at Wrightway as they have grown their business and prepared it for sale. This is an exciting time for all involved and the fact that the deal has come smoothly to fruition in spite of the ongoing turbulence in the economy is testament to all parties.”
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