GLOUCESTERSHIRE MORTUARY COOLING BUSINESS IS SOLD

Gloucester-based Flexmort, the market leader in flexible mortuary cooling which won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2016, has been bought by investors led by Noar Limited. The sale price was not disclosed.

The business was founded in 2010 by entrepreneur Simon Rothwell who identified the need for mortuary equipment to be more flexible to cope with fluctuations in demand and to overcome manual handling and specific cooling issues.

Flexmort’s products are now used worldwide across the healthcare, funeral and emergency services sectors. During the

Double acquisition strengthens BBN’s regional day nursery presence

Bristol-based BBN Limited has added to its growing portfolio of pre-primary education businesses by buying two leading children’s day nurseries.

The acquisition of New Road Nursery in Chippenham and Little Robins Nursery in Melksham will strengthen BBN’s market presence, expand its geographic footprint and extend its range of childcare services to children and their families across south-west England and Wales.

BBN Limited was founded by owner Bob Bennett in 2009 and currently employs more than 100 qualified and experienced childcare specialists.

In August last year, the company added to its group of day nurseries in Bristol, Burnham-on-Sea, Salisbury, Stroud and Cardiff with the acquisition of Scribblez Day Nursery in Exeter.

Covid crisis, the company played a central role in equipping hospitals and assisting governments in contingency planning to manage and extend capacity.

Simon Rothwell, who will become a consultant in the business, said: “We are extremely excited to be joining Noar. The move ensures the company is ideally placed to take advantage of the significant expansion opportunities ahead.”

Data management company sold to USA consultancy

Warwick-based Comma Group has been acquired by Amplifi, a strategy and information management consultancy headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Comma Group is an award-winning international management consultancy which connects people and data to improve commercial results.

Founded in 2015 by Leigh Wells, Sam Goss, Mike Evans and Mike Bonsall, the group now works across multiple industries including manufacturing, distribution, apparel, retail, health and beauty and food and beverage.

Leigh Wells, Comma Group’s CEO, said: “Organisations need to use data to compete strategically or they will get left behind. Becoming part of Amplifi will accelerate our global vision and provide customers with a more comprehensive set of services to address today’s market needs.”

Comma Group will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Amplifi and will operate under the name Comma, part of Amplifi. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Wheatley employee engagement business secures investment

A Wheatley-based employee engagement company has received private equity investment to complete a management buyout.

With many businesses adopting a hybrid approach to work, and workforces becoming increasingly dispersed, the need for employee engagement technology is set to increase.

Peoplevalue founder Mike Morgan along with CEO Andy Caldicott and the management team sought the backing of investors to take the business through its next phase of growth.

Ethos Partners supported the management buyout.

Andy said: “The team at Peoplevalue is passionate about helping businesses engage with their teams, members or customers and we are proud to be able to partner with many of the UK’s leading businesses to do this together.

“The Ethos investment and partnership will enable new opportunities for both our employees and clients as we continue to innovate and bring new technologies to the engagement market.”

Pascal Wittet, Partner at Ethos, added: “The market for technology-led employee engagement solutions is growing at an attractive rate and will become more crucial to organisations in a world of distributed workforces as working from home is increasingly accepted.”