MITIE Group, the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing and energy services company, has entered the healthcare market after acquiring Enara Group Limited for £110.8m, it announced today.
Enara is the fourth largest provider of home care services in the UK providing a wide range of services to people who require help and support due to illness, disability or infirmity. The business cares for 10,000 people via local authority, NHS and private pay agreements.
The community care market is a significant strategic opportunity for MITIE and an ideal entry point into the health and social care sector.
The demographic and economic drivers of an ageing population, together with on-going cost pressure is encouraging a shift both from hospitals and residential care homes towards greater care in the community.
The provision of this care is increasingly being outsourced by local councils and health authorities to the private sector, generating significant opportunities for growth.
Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, Chief Executive of MITIE, said: “We are delighted to have made this strategic acquisition, which establishes us as one of the market leaders in home care. Enara will provide us with a step-change in our service proposition as well as a platform to grow in the wider healthcare sector. We welcome Enara’s 6,000 people to MITIE.”
The home care business will utilise MITIE’s expertise in developing and motivating a large and diverse team of people and will benefit from both innovations in quality and the use of technology and efficiencies that can be introduced from MITIE’s existing infrastructure.
MITIE intends to support the public provision of integrated healthcare by working with the NHS and local authorities to combine community based rehabilitation, elderly and long-term care with social care functions.
MITIE has created a dedicated Health Advisory Board to develop the strategic direction of its healthcare offering. The board will comprise Dr Andy Dun, Managing Director of Enara, two MITIE representatives and three independent, non-executive directors who bring extensive experience of the healthcare sector.
Dr Dun said: “Enara has been providing high-quality home care in the UK since 1996 and we are very proud of our excellent reputation with the people we care for and their families. We look forward to developing the business and working as part of MITIE.”
MITIE bought Enara from August Equity LLP, a private equity company which had owned it since 2008 along with Enara’s senior management.