Optima Health
Building the UK's leading occupational health services provider
The Opportunity
Optima is the leading provider of occupational health services in the UK. CBPE first invested in OHAssist in December 2015 after carving the division out of its former parent Atos. We subsequently acquired Optima Health in 2016 to form the combined group.
The Strategy
To enable Optima to realise its full potential, significant operational improvements and investment into systems needed to be made. We invested heavily in people, recruiting Simon Arnold as CEO in July 2018 and continued to add to the executive team with seven additional senior hires.
Optima’s IT systems needed separating from Atos to allow the business to operate as a standalone entity. After establishing its standalone architecture, the business invested heavily in its technology. Under Simon’s leadership Optima built a new workflow platform (myOHportal) and recruited an internal development team to create a best-in-class tech enabled operational and client platform.
Following the development of myOHportal, the business was able to introduce many innovative new services including the creation of a new triaging tool DART (Digital Assessment and Routing Tool) to underpin future growth.
Service delivery and clinical governance were also a core focus for the business and were strengthened during our ownership. This focus on clinical quality and market leading technology were instrumental factors in Optima’s growth.
The Result
Under CBPE’s ownership, Optima has grown significantly, from around 500 employees in 2016 to over 1,000 employees today and has become the clear UK market leader in corporate health and wellbeing solutions. The Group provides services to over 2 million employees across the UK, supported by over 600 employed clinicians.
A combination of new contract wins and high renewal rates from existing clients drove impressive growth in the business with EBITDA rising to £10m in 2021 from £3m at entry.
In January 2022, Optima health was acquired by Marlowe Plc generating a return of 6.5x.
CBPE has been a great partner for the business and an incredibly supportive investor, bringing expertise and advice to help us achieve the growth so far. As a management team, we are excited by joining the Marlowe Group to further build Optima’s profile with new clients and to continue to pursue strong synergistic acquisitions in the sector. We are looking forward to introducing new services to benefit our clients and ultimately leveraging our platform to support clients to cope with ever growing demands. Our business model is based on maintaining the highest clinical governance standards, a flexible delivery model and a robust technical platform, which alongside the strong fundamentals in our sector, positions us well.
Investment summary
Date of investmentDecember 2015
Exit dateJanuary 2022
SectorHealthcare & Pharmaceuticals
Multiple of Capital6.5x
WebsiteView website
Key outcomes
Senior management hires
Jobs created
Increase in revenue
