PAM Group expands by buying Connect Health's occupational health physiotherapy business
PAM Group – an occupational health and corporate health services provider – has bought the occupational health physiotherapy business of Connect Health for an undisclosed sum.
PAM Physio Solutions (PPS), which is based in Warrington and operates across the country, will take on 60 members of staff from Connect Health, which was set up in 1989 by physiotherapist Andrew Walton in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1989.
The deal means PPS will have more than 120 people servicing employers throughout the UK, and annual revenues will increase by £2 million to more than £5 million. Connect Health will continue to provide community healthcare services to NHS patients across the UK, who will not be affected by the deal.
Physiotherapy business has 13-year track record
PAM Group established its physio business in 2010 to help employers keep their employees in work by maintaining their physical health and wellbeing. Its services include physiotherapy treatment, assessments and the management of musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders.
James Murphy, PAM Group's chief executive, said: ‘We now have 90 specialist MSK clinicians and a management team with incredible depth of knowledge in the treatment and prevention of MSK disorders. The deal allows us to consolidate the respective teams, and to improve and expand our service offering to our existing client base and to new clients.'
He noted: ‘This is the second acquisition by PAM in 2023, and we remain optimistic for our growth and expansion plans for the PPS business in the next few years.’ The acquisition was a ‘perfect’ fit for the PPS business, which is now able to offer ‘the largest specialist occupational health physiotherapy service in the UK’.
Mr Murphy said: ‘Our physiotherapy business works closely with our occupational health business to provide a single, integrated offering to our clients.' Further acquisitions in the UK and overseas that make ‘strategic sense’ could be made in the future, he added.
PAM Group employs more than 700 people and posted revenues of £45 million for 2022 and is on track to post revenues of £55 million this year – up by £10 million on the previous year.
The group is a major provider of occupational health, health screening and wellbeing services in the UK. It offers a range of integrated services to public and private sector clients, supporting more than a million employees at over 1,000 businesses and organisations.
Our physiotherapy business works closely with our occupational health business to provide a single, integrated offering to our clients [James Murphy, PAM Group]
Alongside physiotherapy, its services include absence management, employee assistance programmes, psychological support, corporate health assessments and neurodiversity assessments, mobile health screening and drug and alcohol screening. The group operates a network of 25 clinics across the UK. It also has a retail arm which supplies fitness, exercise and rehabilitation equipment to consumers, sports clubs and sports and physiotherapy professionals.
In 2021, PAM Group acquired 66Fit, a consumer-focused retailer of exercise, fitness and rehabilitation equipment, and Physio Supplies, a specialist provider of sports, physiotherapy and rehabilitation equipment to professionals and sports clubs.
Connect Health thanks staff who will move on
Mike Turner, Connect Health's chief executive, said: 'We can confirm that Connect Health has transferred its occupational health services (OHS) business to PAM Group. At Connect Health we continue to have an ambitious growth strategy that is focused upon providing health and wellbeing services within a health and social care setting. The transfer of OHS to PAM means the OHS business will be able to grow within a specialist provider.'
Mr Turner added: 'I would like to thank colleagues transferring to PAM Group for their contribution, commitment and hard work that has made a huge difference to the success the OHS business.'
The statement from Connect Health (above) was added a few hours after the original article as published on 8 August.
To find out more about PAM Group, click
To find out more about Connect Health, click
Author: Ian A McMillan
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