Almost 500 jobs have been saved after a private ambulance company was sold out of administration.
Elite Emergency Medical Services, which is based in Tamworth, got into trouble when it acquired a competitor in April 2023 which saw it accrue significant losses.
As a result, the directors were forced to conclude that the company was no longer viable and Begbies Traynor was appointed to help rescue it.
Elite Emergency Medical Services was then put up for sale and sold out of administration in a pre-pack deal in a move that has saved more than 490 jobs.
The identity of the organisation that has acquired the private ambulance business has not been revealed.
On April 19, Dominik Czerwinke and Amie Johnson, both of Begbies Traynor were appointed as joint administrators of Elite Emergency Services – almost a year since it acquired Polaris Medical Services out of administration.
That deal resulted in Elite Emergency Services “accruing significant losses relating to the integration of the business into its organisation and the costs linked to transferring colleagues across”, Begbies Traynor said.
The business had also been impacted by a number of fixed-term contracts for the NHS which dictated that its 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.
Dominik Czerwinke from Begbies Traynor said: “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.
“The continued liaison and support from both Bibby Financial Services and the company’s bank, together with expert legal advice from Pinsent Masons, all led to a successful outcome.”
Accounts for Elite Emergency Medical Services’s year to March 2023 have not yet been filed with Companies House.
In the 12 months to March 2022, its turnover totalled £15.3m, up from £10.3m, while its pre-tax losses were cut from £108,952 to £11,187.