UK-based specialist healthcare recruitment agency CRG announced that it has acquired Affinity Workforce, a provider of education, health and social care staffing.

Affinity will complement the portfolio of businesses within the CRG group by incorporating CER, Monarch Education, Medicare First and Team24, together employing over 400 staff with £100 million of revenue. Last year, Affinity Workforce was acquired by Endless Fund IV from Capita.

This deal will also see CRG yield revenue of over £230 million with a workforce exceeding 600 employees and a contractor workforce in excess of 6,000.

According to CRG, the investment provides the group with a solid foundation in the education sector, offering breadth, depth and scale to their existing clients and workforce. It also further enhances CRG’s existing services.

This is the second acquisition undertaken this year by CRG following the recent investment in February of HCL which achieved growth of over 125% in revenue. The group says it has created a long-term sustainable workforce supply to the public and private sector.

“The healthcare market has seen many challenges over the past few years and the board are embracing a coherent, structural growth plan with a strong belief that this is the right time to be striding forward with solid, strategic acquisitions and investments as well as maintaining focus on organic growth,” CRG stated.

Ian Munro, group CEO and Founder, also commented, “The addition of Affinity to the group brings together two forerunners in their sectors and over 25 years’ combined workforce solutions delivery. The coalescence of Affinity’s experience and footprint in education, as well as the health and social care sector, presents more transformational progress for us to compete in areas we’ve been contemplating for some time and to increase the share in our core markets.”

Transactional due diligence was conducted by FRP Advisory LLP and Robert McCarthy, legal support from Chris King, Hemmingway’s Solicitors Limited and funding for the transaction was provided by Close Brothers.

A cross-sector multi-disciplinary team at international legal practice Osborne Clarke advised Endless (Endless Fund IV) on its sale of Affinity Workforce Solutions. It was also advised by Deloitte, and PwC.

No further details of the transaction were disclosed.