Emis in £60m landmark swoop for Ascribe

The Leeds-based company said the two groups are highly compatible with very little overlap between the two firms.

Ascribe is focused on hospital pharmacy, accident and emergency, mental health and electronic patient records for the NHS and overseas.

Emis is the UK’s leading supplier of clinical software and related services to GP practices and other healthcare practitioners and a major software supplier to high street pharmacies.

Emis chief executive Chris Spencer said the acquisition is one of the most significant things that the company has done in its history.

“I wanted to look into other parts of healthcare. Strategically, Ascribe will be a very important part of the business,” he said.

“It has the pharmacy systems in hospitals’ accident and emergency units and it also has a position in mental health trusts.

“We can pitch jointly and pitch much more strongly. Ascribe fills in the gaps.”

He added that there won’t be any job losses as a result of the acquisition and the company may well recruit people as a result of it.

The acquisition values Ascribe’s share capital at £12.5m, but Emis is also paying £40.4m to acquire outstanding loan notes and preference shares.

A further £4.6m is being paid to cover external bank debt.

Emis is covering the cost from a £32m debt facility with Yorkshire Bank and a £27m fundraising with Numis Securities.

Emis is one of Yorkshire’s fastest growing listed companies and is forecasting improved profitability in the coming months after reporting a jump in revenues during “one of the busiest periods ever” for the group.

The firm said revenue from continuing operations increased by 11 per cent to £47.1m in the six months to June 30, compared with £42.3m in the same period the year before.

Pre-tax profit remained stable at around £12m.

The group has an overall UK GP market share of 52.4 per cent – or 5,170 GP practices – up from 51.2 per cent at the end of December.

The half year saw the group continue to roll out its Emis Web software, which links healthcare professionals, from GPs to neurosurgeons, by allowing them to share patients’ cradle-to-grave medical records.