Ambulance services provider acquired in pre-pack deal

Elite Emergency Medical Services Ltd (Elite EMS), an ambulance services provider based in Staffordshire, has been acquired out of administration in a pre-pack deal. The deal has secured close to 500 blue light worker jobs at the company.

Over the past two years, Elite EMS won a number of fixed-term contracts with the NHS. These agreements stipulated that the company’s services "must remain unchanged, despite geopolitical instability and a difficult economic backdrop leading to the substantial increase in costs for medical supplies, vehicle maintenance, fuel and staff during the period".

In April 2023, the company also acquired the business and assets of group counterpart Polaris Medical Services out of administration, resulting in the firm generating "significant losses relating to the integration of the business into its organisation and the costs linked to transferring colleagues across".

In its most recent accounts at Companies House, for the year to March 31 2022, Elite EMS reported turnover of £15.3 million, compared to £10.3 million in its previous accounting period, while cutting its pre-tax losses from close to £109,000 to £11,187. However, the company’s net liabilities increased from £129,354 to nearly £198,000.

Dominik Czerwinke and Amie Johnson of Begbies Traynor were appointed as joint administrators of the company on April 19 2024 and secured a sale of the business and assets to an undisclosed party via a pre-packaged administration process.

Joint administrator Dominik Czerwinke commented: "We are delighted to have secured a swift and favourable outcome for the staff of the company. Moreover, our actions have safeguarded the continuity of vital medical care and ambulance services throughout the South East, which is crucial to preventing loss of life and avoiding delays in treatment and care within the local communities.”

"Any potential alternative outcome would have led to mass redundancies and disruption to frontline medical services that are heavily relied upon by both members of the general public and contracted NHS trusts."

"This was a situation where a pre-packaged sale of the business and assets was a vital tool in the box as no other procedure allowed for this outcome in the time available.”


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