ACCA

handl Excels…

With an operational transformation for ACCA

Advanced Child Care Assessments (ACCA) had grown to be a leading regional player in the field of independent social work assessments, under the leadership of company founder Mark Webb.

But despite ACCAs potential, Mark was looking for an exit plan to free him from the day-to-day running of the company while protecting his employees and ensuring a prosperous future for the business.

The challenge

Prior to acquisition, ACCA had become widely recognised as a leading provider of high-quality social work reports to local authorities. With a strong base of customers and a solid regional reputation, Mark had created a company with both short and long-term potential.

In order to allow for his exit and ensure that ACCA could reach its full potential, Mark needed to bring in expertise and investment that would:

1. Ensure ACCA had skilled leadership in place to continue and build upon his hard work

2. Accelerate ACCA’s growth to ensure the company he left after a handover period would be set for future success

To meet both aims, Mark chose handl Group.

The solution

handl Group invests in businesses that compliment our existing portfolio of companies, and we specialise in operational transformations and supply chain management. In Mark’s eyes, this made handl Group a perfect fit. As did the potential for collaboration with a number of our brands in the legal and expert witness fields:

“handl Group aligns entirely with our beliefs, goals and aspirations. We also have synergy with a number of brands within the existing handl portfolio, therefore handl Group was the obvious choice to move our business to the next level and beyond.”

Mark Webb – Founder, Advanced Child Care Assessments (ACCA)

handl Group CEO Graham Pulford’s vision identified opportunities for ACCA to excel as part of a broader handl Group offering:

“Acquiring ACCA bolstered and broadened our breadth of service in the legal and expert witness arenas, strengthening our strategic position as a go-to provider in these areas. At handl Group we have a strong demonstrable legacy helping brands with accelerating growth and driving quality through investment in operational transformation, and that was our aim from the start with Mark’s company.”

Graham Pulford – Chief Executive Officer, handl Group

In order to set ACCA up for future excellence, the operational transformation needed to start at the very top. Mark agreed to a two year handover period, setting a 2021 deadline for stepping down from ACCA’s management team, which meant the company would need new leadership.

ACCA was initially put into Susan Henry’s portfolio, due to her decades of experience with legal brands across the wider handl Group portfolio. Susan would build a new executive team, supported by investment in new infrastructure – the right experts, the right systems and new offices, along with a rebrand.

We focused on what we do best at handl Group. People + Tech.

Mark’s deadline was comfortably met, and today a new-look ACCA leadership team has helped the company to do more than just thrive.

They’ve helped ACCA to excel.

The results

Today, ACCA stands as one of the leaders in their field. Working closely with another company in our portfolio, Foresight, they’ve grown their market share within the family law and local authority space to become a prominent force.

Improved IT infrastructure and case management services, a modern rebrand, and a dedicated sales function have made it easier for ACCA’s growing team to attract and retain customers, leading to huge increases in customer numbers, a far wider geographical reach, and new and exciting products and services.

Even with the success ACCA has seen so far, the company remains a work in progress. Operations continue to transform, embracing a more agile way of working that’s helped the business to flourish.

Mark can be proud of what ACCA has become. In a difficult marketplace, it’s grown to become a national leader. It’s testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire team that as part of handl Group, ACCA excels.

Customers more than
doubled

From 110 to 290 active
customers

Geographical reach
expanded

From regional to
national

Product suite
broadened

With a new 24/7
programme