MHA Moore and Smalley advises on PE-backed acquisition of personal alarm business

A leading field service management company has acquired a North West-based lone worker protection provider in a significant private equity-backed deal.

Lone Worker Solutions, which provides personal GPS and emergency alarm devices and apps for solo workers in high-risk environments, has been acquired by Belfast-based PE-backed Totalmobile for an undisclosed sum.

Totalmobile provides workforce management software such as cloud-based job management and data analytics platforms. The company is supported by technology-focused private equity firm Horizon Capital and says the deal will add scale to its end-to-end suite of staff management solutions as part of its ambition to further establish itself as the UK’s premier field service management provider in a range of sectors.

Lone Worker Solutions was formed in 2009 and is headquartered in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It employs 18 staff and services clients including NHS Trusts, county councils and National Rail.

The company’s management team was advised by MHA Moore and Smalley. The team comprised Andrew Feeke and Ian Waddingham (Corporate Finance), David Hackett (Tax) and Joe Sullivan (Corporate).

Andrew Feeke, corporate finance partner, MHA Moore and Smalley, said: “Lone Worker Solutions has been our client for the past five years.  We were extremely pleased to be able to bring in our corporate finance and transaction tax specialists to negotiate and structure a great deal at an important step in the company’s progression.

“Our corporate finance team has been busy throughout lockdown and it is clear there is still an appetite for mergers and acquisitions in the North West. We have advised on a number of significant deals in recent weeks with more expected to follow over the coming month.”

George Stavrinidis, chief executive officer, Lone Worker Solutions, said: “We are very excited about completing this hugely significant deal for the company. Totalmobile is a business which is well-aligned with our own culturally and will bring huge technical benefits and scale to our current operations.

“We have had a superb relationship with MHA Moore and Smalley for a number of years and were able to call on the team’s expertise at various points during the transaction.”

Forbes Solicitors also advised Lone Worker Solutions on the deal. The Forbes team was led by Nick Pickup and included Pauline Rigby and Rebecca McCann (Corporate), Mohassan Mehmood (Commercial Property) and Abigail Lynch and Sal Chowdhury (Employment).