NEWS
CQC Compliance acquisition bolsters WorkNest’s services for health and social care providers

Chester – 30 June 2021: Ellis Whittam is delighted to announce the latest in a string of acquisitions by parent company Marlowe plc.
CQC Compliance (‘CQC’), a care quality compliance consultancy, has been acquired with a total enterprise value payable expected to be approximately in the region of £2 million.
With a national footprint, CQC provides retained compliance services to primary and secondary care organisations, including GP surgeries and private clinics, as well as care providers and care homes, to ensure compliance with health and social care regulations. The acquisition adds a new adjacent capability to Marlowe’s Governance, Risk and Compliance division, broadening the Group’s offering of regulated compliance services into the care market. It offers synergies with Ellis Whittam – the Group’s leading platform in the provision of recurring, fixed-fee Employment Law, HR and Health & Safety services and software.
Both Ellis Whittam and CQC’s health and social care clients will benefit from joined-up access to Employment Law, HR and Health & Safety support as well as compliance consultancy.
Gavin Snell, CEO at Ellis Whittam, commented: “We’re delighted to come together with the specialist team at CQC Compliance, particularly given the ever-developing and changing landscape of the regulatory system. This deal adds a significant new dimension to the Ellis Whittam family of service offerings and will benefit from the capability we’ve built to serve over 35,000 UK employers across all sectors. Culturally, both of our organisations have a people-first mentality and this underpins the long-term relationships we build with our clients.”
Greg Bamber, Chief Executive at CQC Compliance, said: “We’re a young business, but as a board of directors we passionately believe that joining the Ellis Whittam family, and going on the journey with Marlowe, will allow us to accelerate the market leading service we deliver to our clients. As the first to emulate Ellis Whittam’s fixed-fee model of professional support in health and social care compliance, our team is excited to build a plan for the coming years that draws on the Group’s depth of expertise and resource.”
The acquisition swiftly follows Marlowe’s acquisition of specialist employment law firm Cater Leydon Millard earlier this month, and a trio of previous acquisitions made in March – ESPHR, Youmanage, and HR Services Partnership (HRSP) – which joined Ellis Whittam and Law At Work (LAW) to strengthen the Group’s Employment Law and HR arm.
Gavin Snell, CEO
Ellis Whittam
Further details about the transaction can be found in Marlowe plc’s announcement published on RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange.
About Ellis Whittam
Ellis Whittam helps over 35,000 UK employers to create great, safe places to work. What makes us unique is that we combine the service quality of a law firm with the certainty of fixed-fee services to provide expert, solutions-focused Employment Law, HR and Health & Safety support tailored to your organisation.
Our aim is to help business owners:
- Proactively solve problems;
- Ensure regulatory compliance; and
- Achieve commercial objectives.
Not only do we offer exceptionally good value for money, but we only recruit the best people, with the best qualifications and most commercial acumen. Our Legal Team has over 300 years’ combined experience of resolving problems, and our Health & Safety Team has over 350 years’ combined experience of keeping clients safe.
Since the beginning, we’ve believed in building long-term, close working relationships with our clients through advocating an honest, open approach. We take the time to get to know your organisation and understand your commercial objectives so that we can provide the best possible support. And it works.
About CQC Compliance
CQC Compliance understands that all healthcare providers strive to offer their clients the best experience possible. However, with years of experience in the healthcare sector, it also appreciates the challenges and complexities in ensuring that your service is fully compliant with CQC regulations.
Its senior management team is comprised of NHS Governance Directors, CQC inspectors and expert CQC policy writers – all of whom have experience at every level of health and social care. Its team has decades of experience, a passionate for supporting providers to remain compliant, and a desire to deliver outstanding services.
About Marlowe plc
Marlowe is a UK leader in business-critical services and software which assure safety and regulatory compliance.
The company was formed to create sustainable shareholder value through the acquisition and development of businesses that provide regulated safety and compliance services. It is focused on health and safety, compliance software, employment law and HR compliance, fire safety, security, water treatment and air hygiene, and occupational health services – all of which are vital to the wellbeing of its customers operations and are invariably governed by regulation.
Marlowe currently provides services to over 15% of Britain’s commercial premises and is increasingly attractive to customers who require a single outsourced nationwide provider of a comprehensive range of regulated compliance and safety services. Its customers can be found in most office complexes, high streets and leisure facilities, manufacturing plants and industrial estates, and include thousands of SMEs, local authorities, facilities management providers, multi-site NHS trusts and FTSE 100 companies.
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