The deal, which sees MML Ireland as the largest single equity holder, represents a significant investment in the business alongside CEO, Conor O’Byrne, and President and Founder, Dr. Frank Dolphin. The investment will be used to support RelateCare’s ambitious plans, including its continued expansion into the North American market.
RelateCare began in 2014 as a joint venture between the leading US healthcare system, Cleveland Clinic and Waterford based contact centre company, Rigneydolphin. By combining Rigneydolphin’s excellence in contact centre management and Cleveland Clinic’s expertise in healthcare delivery, RelateCare began providing a range of patient access consultancy and outsourcing solutions to hospitals and health systems seeking to improve how they communicate with their patients. Since then, RelateCare has built a significant reputation across the US as a partner of choice for many leading hospital groups. It is uniquely positioned to advise and support healthcare organisations seeking to optimise their patient access channels, appointment scheduling systems, telehealth and contact centre models through a range of innovative consultancy and outsourcing solutions.
Both RelateCare and Rigneydolphin are headquartered in Waterford, Ireland. RelateCare operates a world-class contact centre in in Waterford, Ireland, and in Cleveland, Ohio, employing 550 people across all locations, including over eighty registered nurses. An additional US centre is currently in the planning phase.
RelateCare is working with several leading health systems in the US including Cleveland Clinic, Stanford Children’s Health, Lahey Health, Allina and Duke Health amongst many others. The combined business is on track to achieve revenues of c. $24m in the year to 31 December 2019.
The MML Ireland investment will be made from the MML Growth Capital Partners Ireland Fund I, a €125 million fund supported by Enterprise Ireland, AIB and a number of international institutional investors. The fund is dedicated to backing small and medium sized private businesses originating on the island of Ireland.
Conor O’Byrne, CEO of RelateCare, commented:
“We’re delighted to receive this backing from MML Ireland. It is a validation of our success in this growth market and our future expansion plans. With its experience of working with ambitious and focused management teams, MML Ireland is the perfect partner for the next stage of our journey. This investment will give RelateCare the additional financial support to expand in its target markets.”
Dr. Frank Dolphin, President and Founder, said:
“We are excited to partner with MML Ireland on the next phase of RelateCare’s growth. I look forward to working with MML Ireland to support Conor and his team in building on the very substantial success already achieved in the business. We are all ambitious for the company and we have a super team to take us on that journey.”
Rory Quirke, Co-Head of Investments at MML Ireland, commented:
“RelateCare has developed a strong reputation in a very dynamic and growing market. We are delighted to have partnered with the RelateCare management team and look forward to supporting their ambitious plans to further scale the business.”
