The acquisition includes the contracts of some 435 private clients. The Helpline service has been providing Technology Enabled Care services to clients in Tewkesbury and the wider Gloucestershire area for over 25 years. As part of the arrangement Doro has acquired the assets of Helpline and will be continuing to support the housing business as they develop and deliver services to their older people.
Doro will pay in cash GBP 1.00 on a cash and debt free basis for the assets of the service from Bromford.
Revenue for the Helpline service for the financial year 2019/20 was GBP £75,000 (approximately SEK 0.9 million). The acquisition will be consolidated into Doro Group from 1st October 2021 and is expected to have a negligible effect on earnings per share for 2021 including transaction costs.
Carl-Johan Zetterberg Boudrie, President and CEO of Doro Group commented. “We have worked with Bromford for many years, providing alarm receiving services to their clients. We are delighted to expand this relationship by taking on their Helpline service whilst continuing to provide services to customers in their housing accommodation. As the UKs analogue to digital shift is proving increasingly challenging for housing and technology enabled care suppliers and we are keen to provide ongoing support to those facing increasing investment and complex transition arrangements. We are delighted to welcome Helpline customers into Doro and look forward to exploring new ways of making a real difference to people in the local communities.”.
The UK is the largest telecare market in Europe with an estimated 2 million telecare connections. Most of these are analogue but with a digital shift on the way. As the market matures the UK is likely to see significant changes in the way such services are delivered.
Helen Shields, Bromford’s Head of Retirement Living & Centralised Support, added: “As we were already working with Doro to provide the response service for these customers, we decided that they were best company to take on the Helpline service. Importantly for us, not only will customers see no interruption to their service, but Doro is committed to investing in upgrading their existing equipment.”
DORO AB 
