Breaking news report: Charterhouse evaluating £700 m sale of Tunstall Healthcare (UPDATED)

June 24, 2015 | by

Breaking News

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Big-T-thumb-480×294-55535.gif” thumb_width=”150″ /]Reuters reports as an exclusive that its sources indicate that UK private equity firm Charterhouse is considering a sale of Tunstall Healthcare Group for a possible valuation of £700 m ($1.1 bn) or more. According to this report, Charterhouse is working with JP Morgan on an exploration for a Tunstall sale in late 2015 or 2016. All three companies declined to comment.

Today, Tunstall also announced their Connected Healthcare 2020 strategy with a £100 m investment over the next five years, which we reported only a few hours ago.

Tunstall has gone through multiple hands in the past ten years. Charterhouse bought Tunstall Group in 2008 for £514m from Bridgepoint Capital, which acquired it from Hg Capital in 2005 for £225 m.

An exit for Charterhouse has long been rumored in UK healthcare circles. In the dark before the Christmas 2014 holiday, Tunstall reported disappointing results for 2014 (close 30 Sept): a YOY £6 m drop in revenue and a £9.7 m drop in EBITDA.  [TTA 24 Dec 14] According to CompanyCheck, which posts financial reports for UK companies, Tunstall Group’s net worth as of that date exceeded a negative £1 bn–a steadily declining position since 2010, though with stronger cash and reduced liabilities (see Accounts page).

We’ll post updates as they’re available.

Update 25 June with some quotes from a Tunstall spokesperson from their ‘hometown paper’, the Yorkshire Post.

Tunstall invests £100 m in ‘Connected Healthcare 2020’ strategy

June 23, 2015 | by

Tunstall Healthcare Group in UK outlined today their five-year public, global strategic vision, along with a fresh investment of £100 million during this timeframe (~£20 m per year) to transition their connected care systems over to IP and cloud technology. The initiative, dubbed Connected Healthcare 2020, is centered on:

  1. Leading the switch to IP infrastructure–transitioning away from analogue (analog) services and devices to connected digital and mobile (cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)
  2. Extending managed services–offering a wide variety of services end-to-end including full outsourcing
  3. Developing new consumer propositions through innovation–tapping into demand, often private pay, for high quality home care not provided by carers (caregivers)
  4. Developing new models of care in the home through integration–coordination of social care and healthcare

The Yorkshire Post article also points out, through their separate comments with CEO Paul Stobart, that prospective markets include developing nations with aging populations such as Mexico, South Korea and Turkey. Tunstall claims market leadership in UK, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Australia, as well as fourth position in the US. The TECS (technology enabled care services) initiative will create about a dozen jobs per year at the Whitley HQ, adding to their present 650 there and their total globally of 3,500. Tunstall release

We wonder if in the US we will see more of Tunstall at events like the mHealth Summit. Tunstall Americas has a refreshed website and communications as ‘The voice of connected health’, is more strongly promoting their call/contact services and its HQ location in New York City. We’ve previously noted their recent home care acquisitions and partnership with QMedic.