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The Panoply Holdings has announced the acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Nudge Digital Limited.
Bristol-based Nudge, is a digital services agency which delivers strategy-led services primarily to the pharmaceutical industry, health sector and, more recently, to local authorities, with a particular focus around care pathways.
It was founded in 2006 by CEO Luke Aikman and provides strategic consultancy and digital execution on mission-critical services, from global pharmaceutical projects to the software underpinning social housing and social care.
Since its founding, Nudge has built up a strong client base including major pharmaceutical companies Roche and Galderma, private healthcare provider Bupa as well as the Greater London Authority, Hackney and Westminster councils.
The acquisition is strategically important to the group and strengthens its overall position in healthcare and, importantly, provides an entry into the pharmaceutical industry at a time when the NHS is looking at precision medicine, risk stratification and data-driven personalised care plans for patients.
According to Panoply Holdings, the acquisition is profitable and immediately earnings enhancing for The Panoply. Nudge has achieved significant revenue growth over the last two years of 151% and delivered revenues of £2.7m, adjusted EBITDA of £1.0m and adjusted profit after tax of £0.9m for the year ended 31 March 2021 (all unaudited). Nudge enters the group with a booked backlog of £2.5m for FY22.
The Panoply is paying a total consideration of £5.0m with £1.75m being satisfied in cash and £3.25m by the issue of new ordinary shares in The Panoply.
The cash portion of the consideration will be funded through the group's own cash reserves. The group remains highly cash generative, with £4.9m net cash and a net debt position of £8.2m at 30 June, which remains at less than 1x pro forma EBITDA.
Neal Gandhi, chief executive officer of The Panoply, said: 'Pulling together Nudge's experience in private healthcare and pharmaceuticals with the group's existing experience across the NHS and local authority adult social care gives us a strong base to become a leader in the healthcare sector in the UK.'
Luke Aikman, chief executive officer of Nudge Digital, said: 'In recent months, Nudge has started to win contracts that are impactful and larger in size than ever before. By joining The Panoply, we can continue on that trajectory in the knowledge that we have a balance sheet that reassures our clients as well as a much larger team to draw upon to fulfill their requirements.'