Civica acquires In4tek

(By Tola Sargeant, Friday 25th September ’09, 09:55) Software and services firm Civica has made a move into the UK health and social care market with the acquisition of in4tek, a provider of integrated health and social care software. Financial details were not disclosed.

The deal takes Civica into health and social care, which on the face of it seems a sensible addition to its existing portfolio of products and services which are mainly in local government (the home of social care), social housing, enforcement and education. Civica also has some track record in healthcare where it has been a reseller for many years. Moreover, government policy clearly sees closer integration of health and social care, which will create opportunities for forward-thinking suppliers (see also System C’s acquisition of Liquidlogic)

But is in4tek the best possible vehicle for this move? True, it is the only UK-based company with a truly integrated offering for health and social care. But in4tek hasn’t got a large share of the market and it hasn’t won many new deals in recent years. In its last reported fiscal year (to 31 March ’08) the company had a turnover of £3.8m and made an operating loss of £398k. Civica might have been better off acquiring a traditional social care application provider with a larger market share. Of course, price and availability will also have been important factors for Civica – and I’m sure in4tek CEO Tom Nawojczyk was pretty keen to sell and spend more time in the Caribbean.