WIL has announced the acquisition of “Wellards” (JMH Publishing Ltd) for a headline price of £4.2m. Wellards is a leading UK provider of specialist and accredited online education for the healthcare industry. Wilmington has been clear on its strategy in terms of what service offerings it wishes to provide in which segments. This acquisition helps fill in the pharmaceutical offering in the Insight unit. The acquired business derives c70% of its revenues from 1 year subscriptions providing a high level of visibility. The courses cover everything from basic to higher accredited training. At 6.3x the deal is very good value. We reiterate our Buy rating for one of 2016 Best Ideas. The Wilmington investment case is based on the secular global growth in regulation and compliance, the high quality management team, scope for exploitation of the existing business and further expansion both in terms of service offering and geography.
