Telecare specialist Tunstall bought in £225m deal

Tunstall, the specialist in personal and home telecare, has been acquired by private equity firm Bridgepoint from Hg Capital in a deal worth a total of £225m.

In a simultaneous deal Tunstall has acquired Attendo Response and Attendo Systems, a market-leader in Scandinavian telecare solutions. The acquisition will create a group with combined annual sales of over £100m.

The two deals place Tunstall in a strong position in the growing telcare market, which provides healthcare providers and payers with a range of services that can allow help enable older people to remain independent in their own home for longer, cutting the high costs associated with hospitalisation or nursing homes.

Telecare also has significant potential to cost-effectively remotely manage patients with chronic conditions such as asthma and coronary heart disease.

James Buckley, UK managing director of Tunstall, who becomes group CEO, said: “The compelling economics of telecare solutions are reflected in the growth in sales across Europe, and we are now in an ideal position to move to the next phase of growth as the telecare market leader."

Buckley told E-Health Insider: "We currently provide 11% of over-65s in the UK with some sort of device or simple sensor. The opportunity is to provide those existing customers with a range of sensors and services, as well 89% who don’t have anything at the moment."

He added that the UK government is strongly committed to promoting the use of telecare to support people in their homes, including grants for 165,000 packages of telecare out to people. "The potential here is enormous, we’re barely even scraping the surface," said Buckley.

In the UK, Tunstall Response will be integrated with Attendo Response to provide economies of scale and a more effective platform for growth. According to Tunstall the integration of the Attendo Systems and Response businesses into the Tunstall Group will create a company with a strong position virtually every major global telecare market.

Rob Moores, a partner at Bridgepoint, added: “By combining Tunstall with Attendo’s Systems and Response division, we will be well positioned to benefit from these trends and improve telecare penetration rates not just in the UK but in continental Europe.”

Tunstall’s core solutions include alarm units installed in sheltered housing communities that enable residents to call for assistance when and if required. Lifeline home units provide the same reassurance for people living in their own homes. The firm has also pioneered telehealth solutions which can monitor a patient’s vital signs in their own residence, helping to release resources in the NHS.