IOM Consulting, the Edinburgh-based researcher into occupational and environmental health risks, has been acquired by Rcapital.
The transaction secures the independent future of the business, its laboratories and 90 staff in the capital, Stafford and Chesterfield.
IOM Consulting was set up in 1990 as the commercial subsidiary of the Institute of Occupational Medicine, the research charity founded by the National Coal Board in Edinburgh in 1969.
It was placed into administration after a sustained fall in research and grant funding. Richard Bathgate and Graeme Bain of Johnston Carmichael were appointed as its joint administrators.
Over more than three decades, IOM Consulting has built a reputation for independent measurement, testing, occupational hygiene consulting and expert opinion, working for law firms, NHS trusts, rail infrastructure operators and industrial clients across the UK.
Martin Dorchester will step away from his role as CEO of the combined group and Michelle Reid will take up the role of managing director of IOM Consulting.
Ms Reid said “Like many organisations across the UK, the Institute of Occupational Medicine had faced a challenging business environment in recent years.”
She said the acquisition means that the research, IOM brand, capabilities and knowledge available within the workforce is maintained.
“As governments and employers place greater emphasis on keeping people healthy and in work, IOM Consulting Limited’s independent expertise has never been more relevant or more important,” she added.
Sam Duberley, investment director of Rcapital, said: “IOM Consulting is a great business that has been starved of capital by circumstances outside its control.
“It has a strong reputation for its core testing, inspection and certification services, with an unparalleled history of market leading research. Michelle and her colleagues have done a great job of managing IOM Consulting through a demanding period and we are delighted to be backing them. There’s an exciting future ahead.”
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