Fast-growing Clanwilliam Group drives innovation in healthcare
Recent advancements in healthcare technology have attracted a lot of attention and are beginning to revolutionise healthcare systems around the world.
One entrepreneur who is confident about the promise of this trend is Howard Beggs, CEO of Clanwilliam Group.
The Dublin-headquartered Group, which includes well known businesses Socrates Healthcare Informatics and Helix Health, provides technology services and solutions to practice management, pharmacy and other clinical settings.
Backed by Greg Lindberg’s US-based information and financial services company Eli Global, Clanwilliam is increasingly looking to acquire businesses which round out its offer for customers with unique technologies.
Unlocking synergies
“A good example of the approach we take in terms of partnering with high-potential healthcare technology businesses is seen in our recent acquisition of Professional Medical Management Services,” said Beggs.
Professional Medical Management Services provides medical billing and collection services, including day-to-day management of billing, a secretarial service working to provide secretary cover to consultants 24 hours a day, and a clinical debt collection service.
“Products offered by Professional Medical Management Services have long been fully integrated with DGL Practice Manager, a technology solution provided by Clanwilliam business Helix Health. But beyond product integration, where Professional Medical Management Services really fits with our existing businesses is in its culture. A patient-first ethos dictates all its activities and clients have really responded to that quite simply because it produces excellent results,” Beggs continued.
It’s that dedication to helping its customers achieve great results that has enabled Clanwilliam Group to reach its current scale.
“The Group strives towards unrivalled excellence in customer care – so as well as ensuring clients gain access to the latest technology, mechanisms are in place to make sure that they are supported in the management of a given product or service,” said Beggs.
Empowering Customers
“Empowering our customers and delivering on their technology, service expectations and ideas is central to increasing healthcare efficiencies and improving patient care all round,” he continued.
“All products offered by Clanwilliam Group are trusted and intuitive and play a role in freeing up GPs, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals so that they can spend more time where it counts most – working with their patients. We streamline the day-to-day tasks that previously would have taken their attention,” he said.
Clanwilliam’s Practice Management offerings include software solutions, both traditional and cloud, and related business services for both General Practitioners and Hospital Consultants.
“In addition to increasing efficiencies, our clients tell us that the services and solutions provided by Clanwilliam Group businesses help them better meet the needs of their patients, resulting in higher levels of satisfaction. And clients tell us they see an increase in word-of-mouth referrals as a result,” said Beggs.
Fast-paced growth
An expanding Group means more choice and greater synergies. Beggs is the driving force behind a strategy of organic and acquisitive growth in Ireland, the UK and overseas. He is assisted by a senior team that is responsible for the management and operation of the Group. Individual directors are drawn from existing business units and Eli Global.
Beggs is upfront about the Group’s appetite to expand further. “We are actively researching the markets for the right opportunity. We abide by a set of investment criteria, and when the elements align we are happy to move quickly, supplying the funding that enables businesses to grow to the next level and move key innovations forward. We also bring considerable expertise to bear – from within the wider Clanwilliam Group, and also from Eli Global in the US. That means we can lean on a team of over 2,000 employees that are spread across three continents.”
What are those investment criteria? Beggs says that before seeking to enter into a new relationship with a business, Clanwilliam Group first looks to ensure it can add more value than another acquirer by partnering with the business to deliver more lasting growth.
“We also welcome direct approaches from businesses which potentially see a future within the Group structure, and which would benefit from the substantial capital investment and expertise we are able to provide,” he continued.
Critically, when an acquired business joins the Clanwilliam Group, it doesn’t give up its brand uniqueness and independence.
“In fact it’s just the opposite,” said Beggs. “Our core belief is to back the entrepreneur or management team that has successfully built the business to date and recognise the brand equity in the products and services they. The Group is there to drive strategy and supply any advice along the way, but the core passion and vision comes from the business team in place.”
The experience Clanwilliam Group has gained in growing over the last two decades, both organically and through acquisitions, differentiates it as an investor. In the past eight years, it has completed ten mergers and acquisitions while at the same time delivering impressive organic growth across its multiple business units and geographies.
“We are always happy to meet like-minded entrepreneurs and to work with them in a collaborative fashion.”
“At Clanwilliam Group what we prize most is our entrepreneurial culture which pushes us to continue to seek new solutions and services which will enhance the overall offering for our clients. We would very much welcome hearing from business leaders who share that commitment and want to become part of a strong, globally integrated company that delivers sustainable value to customers,” he concluded.
Jennifer Hughes, Director of Marketing, Clanwilliam Group, 01 4633000, Jennifer.hughes@clanwilliamgroup.com
Visit www.clanwilliamgroup.com to learn more about the Clanwilliam Group businesses Professional Medical Management Services, Socrates Healthcare Informatics and Helix Health businesses, and the technology solutions they offer to the GP, Private Consultants and pharmacy communities such as Socrates, Health One, DGL Practice Manager, Helix Practice Manager, Clinical Debt Collection, Rx Web, QicPos.net, QicScript and CliniScript.
