ACS buys Healthy Software

Primary care IT company Advanced Computer Software has acquired the GP and hospice software supplier Healthy Software for £0.9m in cash and shares.

The acquisition of the Derby-based software supplier is the latest in a series of deals by ACS.

It bought leading out-of-hours software supplier Adastra last year and has since acquired a hosting company, a staff rostering software firm and an India-based firm of software developers.

Healthy Software was founded in 1998. Its Crosscare software is used in more than 100 NHS and private GP practices in the UK, while its hospice system is used by 18% of UK hospices.

ACS said the acquisition builds on and complements its own End-of-Life and iNurse solutions. It said the integration of Crosscare into the End-of-Life Register would enhance both products and provide a more comprehensive national solution.

It said Healthy Software has annualised sales of more than £1m but is set to deliver significantly stronger results, with over 70% recurring revenue and recent new product development.

Vin Murria, chief executive of ACS, said Healthy Sofware was well established and had a solid reputation in the growing palliative care sub-sector.

She added: “The addition of Crosscare extends our offering by enhancing the range and scope of the solutions we now offer to healthcare professionals and organisations.”

Murria announced earlier this year that ACS had built a £55m war chest and would use the money to pursue its goal of becoming the leading consolidator in the primary care market.

Murria said the primary care IT market was extremely fragmented, with more than 100 software vendors, and that it offered huge potential for consolidation.