M3 Inc., a Japanese venture company, has acquired UK-based Messly, a recruitment marketplace for locum doctors.

Financial details were not disclosed.

M3, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, owns a number of firms focused on solving problems in the healthcare sector. The company operates m3.com, a specialised web portal for medical professionals that delivers healthcare-related information to its 320,000+ physician members in Japan. The group’s presence outside of Japan includes the US, UK, France, China, Korea, and India, with business expansion overseas that has amassed 6.5 million physicians across its global platforms. The company said this expansion allows delivery of services including marketing support, marketing research, and job placement support that leverage the platform's value as a media channel.

Messly, established in 2017 and headquartered in London, is a recruitment marketplace for UK doctors by providing access to jobs from multiple locum staffing agencies. It connects doctors to the locum job market through technology-led services, and gives recruitment agencies a convenient way to find quality, pre-screened candidates.

“Messly is a popular service among the UK training doctors and about 70% of them register with Messly,” the company said. “There is an increasing trend for training doctors to participate in locum jobs and Messly's solution will increase the overall workforce capacity in the UK by providing more flexible options to these doctors.”

This acquisition will strengthen M3's position in providing solutions for the doctor shortages in the UK. Together with its other M3 group companies in the UK, Remedium (an international physician recruiting company) and Rotamaster (a rostering and workforce management software for medical institutions), M3 aims to answer the staff shortage issues in NHS.