PKF Francis Clark advises on ERS Medical’s merger with E-zec

An industry leader in the provision of non-emergency patient transport services to the NHS and local authorities has been formed by the merger of ERS Medical and E-zec Medical Transport Services.

Together, the merged businesses will serve more than 50 commissioning bodies with the support of over 2,500 employees, from 55 operational sites nationwide. In 2022, the businesses generated a combined revenue in excess of £100 million.

Leeds-headquartered ERS Medical provides patient transport, medical courier and GP out-of-hours services to over 40 NHS and healthcare customers across the UK. Operating from 26 sites across the South East, London, Midlands, East Anglia, North West and North East, last year it completed approximately 700,000 patient journeys and over a million pathology collections.

From support on the original acquisition several years ago to completing this transaction, the support from PKF Francis Clark has been invaluable.

Cairngorm Capital-backed E-zec provides patient transport, mental health and specialist transport services to local authorities, delivering over 720,000 patient journeys in 2022.

ERS Medical’s majority owner and chief executive Andrew Pooley was advised by a team at PKF Francis Clark, comprising Matt Willmott, Andrew Killick and Tom Hicks.

Mr Pooley is now leaving the business to pursue other interests. He said: “From support on the original acquisition several years ago to completing this transaction, the support from PKF Francis Clark has been invaluable. With such a complex deal, the specialist advice the team were able to provide was pivotal in reaching a successful outcome. I can highly recommend their services.”

Matt Willmott, Corporate Finance Director, said: “As lead advisors to ERS Medical and its shareholders, we have worked with the team on several projects over the years leading up to this deal. We were delighted to have supported the entire process from initial exploration of options through negotiations, due diligence support and tax advice leading to completion. We are really pleased for all the team on the transaction, which is recognition and a testament to the success they have created.

“ERS Medical and E-zec are highly complementary businesses and there are clear strategic benefits to this partnership in terms of their service development and geographical expansion. We’re pleased to have supported our client in achieving this successful exit after growing the business significantly over the past five years.”

Legal advice to ERS Medical was provided by Duncan Sykes, Tim Young and Emma Robinson at Foot Anstey LLP.

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