STRATA ADVISES ALLOCATE SOFTWARE PLC (AIM: ALL) ON THE £7.0 MILLION ACQUISITION OF ZIRCADIAN HOLDING
Strata advises Allocate Software plc (AIM: ALL), the UK AIM listed workforce optimisation software company, on the £7.0m acquisition of Zircadian Holdings Limited (“Zircadian” or the “Company”), the UK based SaaS provider of software used to plan the rotas of junior doctors and consultants in the NHS.
Strata has acted as retained corporate finance adviser since August 2008 to assist Allocate with acquisitions. During this time, Strata has advised Allocate on five completed acquisitions (two cross-border and three in the UK) and Allocate`s market capitalisation has increased by over 75% to some £42 million as at August 2011.
Overview of Zircadian and the Acquisition
- Zircadian is a leading UK supplier of software to plan the rotas of junior doctors and consultants in the NHS. The business uses a SaaS delivery model and most contracts are multiple year agreements
- Its products are used by 142 healthcare organisations in the UK
- Functionality is complementary to Allocate’s existing nurse rostering software, HealthRoster
- In the year ended 31 March 2011, unaudited management accounts reported c.£3.0m in billings, c.£2.5 million in recognised revenues and approximately £0.2 million in EBITDA.
- Zircadian employs 43 staff who are based in Wimbledon, London
- The total consideration of £7.0 million is structured as an initial payment of £5.5 million and two further payments totalling £1.5 million, subject to certain conditions (described below)
- The acquisition is expected by the Directors to be earnings enhancing in the first full financial year of ownership by Allocate
Ian Bowles, CEO of Allocate commented: “We are delighted to conclude our sixth acquisition, one which complements our HealthRoster application well, thereby significantly enhancing the product portfolio and value that we can bring to our customer base both within the NHS and elsewhere. The alignment of Zircadian’s products with Allocate’s reinforces the benefits of our focused M&A strategy in which we aim to continue to build a significant healthcare applications company. I welcome the Zircadian team to Allocate and look forward to further building on our existing relationships within our mutual customer base.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Dr Henry Carleton, Director of Zircadian said: “I am proud of what the team at Zircadian has achieved in developing and growing the business over the past eleven years and we are delighted to join forces with Allocate, the market leader in its field. The integration of our application into the broader HealthRoster application Suite is a natural step, and one which provides the combined groups customers with a highly complementary product offering.”
About Allocate Software plc
Allocate Software plc is the leading workforce and compliance optimisation software applications provider for world-wide organisations with large, multi-skilled workforces. With a blue chip client base spanning the public and private sector, its key vertical markets include: Healthcare, Defence and Maritime.
At the core of the business is Allocate’s workforce optimisation software, which organisations use to deploy the right people with the right skills, to the right place at the right time. Headquartered in London, Allocate provides services and support to its increasing international customer base through regional offices in the UK, Sweden, USA, Australia and Malaysia.
Allocate is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (AIM: ALL). For further information please visit www.allocatesoftware.com
About RosterOn
Zircadian was founded in 2000 by Dr Henry Carleton and Dr Angus MacDougall and since then has expanded and diversified to become the leading SaaS provider of software to plan the rotas and job plans of junior doctors and consultants respectively in the NHS. These solutions are delivered principally through two applications:
- Junior Doctor Portal – rota management software “e-Rota”, online diary management systems “e-Monitor” and “e-Locum” for managing temporary (locum) staff; and
- Consultant Portal – job planning “e-JobPlan”, annual leave “e-Leave” and appraisal management “e-Appraisal”.