The Panoply acquires Newcastle-based digital consultancy firm

AIM-listed technology services group The Panoply Holdings has acquired Newcastle-based digital transformation consultancy firm Difrent for an initial consideration of £8.8 million.

Difrent is a healthcare-focused consultancy, offering services including strategic consultancy, front and back end development, business analysis, business change, user centred design and procurement.

For the acquisition, £4 million will be paid through an extension of The Panoply’s existing revolving facility with HSBC, while the remaining £4.8 million will be paid via the issue of shares in the group to the current Difrent owners.

The Panoply has said that the acquisition will be profitable and immediately earnings enhancing. Difrent most recent accounts show it reporting full-year underlying earnings of £900,000, with revenues of £7.4 million. It has seen particular growth in revenue from its consulting division in recent years, most recently reporting unaudited revenues of £5.7 million from its consulting business.

Difrent will work closely with The Panoply’s existing companies for the earn-out period, with a view to it joining one of the group’s full-stack brands in future.

The Panoply Chief Executive Neal Gandhi said: "Difrent's focus on health and social care presents an immense opportunity for us as a group, building upon the success FutureGov had already achieved in those sectors and at a time when there has never been more focus on radically transforming the way we deliver healthcare services.”

"This acquisition is immediately earnings-enhancing for the group, and clear evidence of our continued momentum against our three-year commercial vision, following on from the acquisitions of Arthurly in June 2020 and Ameo in the last financial year.”

"As a disruptive, purposeful and forward-thinking company, the Difrent acquisition perfectly complements our strategy of acquiring best-in-class in companies who share the values and deep sense of purpose that runs through the group."

Difrent Chief Executive Rachel Murphy commented: "All of the team here at Difrent greatly look forward to collaborating with The Panoply's other group businesses to win new business and, ultimately, deliver digital transformation programmes of the highest quality to our clients and by definition create better services for citizens, patients and service users."


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