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Reach Brain Injury Rehabilitation
Reach – expert partners for rehabilitation management and provision, and a proud member of handl Group
Being extremely good at what you do can take you a long way in any sector. That’s especially true in the health and wellbeing sector, where your expertise can – and often does – have a huge impact on people’s lives.
For nearly 30 years, clinical excellence has helped Reach become one of the most highly regarded names in the field of brain injury rehabilitation. They’re totally focused on delivering better outcomes for traumatic brain injury patients.
But with a clinician’s laser-focus on her patients, Reach founder Heather Batey didn’t have enough spare bandwidth to look at growing her business. For that, she’d need external support, especially with her business partner seeking a well-earned retirement.
Heather needed an investor who’d see the potential in Reach, and help them to meet that potential without diluting the specialisms and expertise that made them so highly valued.
In handl Group, she found one.
Reach – expert partners for rehabilitation management and provision, and a proud member of handl Group
Being extremely good at what you do can take you a long way in any sector. That’s especially true in the health and wellbeing sector, where your expertise can – and often does – have a huge impact on people’s lives.
For nearly 30 years, clinical excellence has helped Reach become one of the most highly regarded names in the field of brain injury rehabilitation. They’re totally focused on delivering better outcomes for traumatic brain injury patients.
But with a clinician’s laser-focus on her patients, Reach founder Heather Batey didn’t have enough spare bandwidth to look at growing her business. For that, she’d need external support, especially with her business partner seeking a well-earned retirement.
Heather needed an investor who’d see the potential in Reach, and help them to meet that potential without diluting the specialisms and expertise that made them so highly valued.
In handl Group, she found one.
Reach Brain Injury Rehabilitation’s Goals
Don’t underestimate the commitment that goes into founding a company like Reach. With a small but dedicated team, Heather had created a real success story without compromising her clinical ideals.
And the results those ideals delivered weren’t up for debate.
“The issue I had wasn’t exactly an issue. I was a neuro-occupational therapist with some business acumen, running a neuro-occupational business. That’s fine. The head of a clinical organisation needs a clinical mind. But my business partner was retiring, and I needed extra support on the business side.”
Reach was already doing well, partnering with case managers, insurers and solicitors to help people who’d suffered traumatic brain injuries to reach the right outcome. But there was an opportunity for growth – one that Heather wanted to take.
She didn’t want Reach to be swallowed up by a larger organisation who’d freeze her out and sell the business on. Heather wanted Reach to succeed, to grow, and to maintain the reputation she’d worked so hard on.
After going to market and speaking to potential investors, she was convinced she’d found the right one.
Us.
The Acquisition – 2020
“Reach was my baby before I had my children. It means a lot to me. I wanted support, I wanted security, and I wanted the backing to realise some really big ideas.”
After a meeting with handl’s board, Heather made her case clear. Reach was already doing what she wanted the business to do, and doing it very well.
What investment would offer her was the chance to do more.
“I’ve always wanted to affect real change. I knew how to do that clinically for the people in our care. But I didn’t have the time to build my business acumen. I wanted to focus on my core strengths – rehabilitating people.”
A successful business with growth potential is the kind of opportunity that excites the handl team. And during her meeting with CEO Graham Pulford, Heather realised she was excited by the opportunity too.
“handl really got what Reach was all about. They understood our place in the market, and the opportunities available. They were already offering advice before I agreed to sell. I knew they were taking my business seriously, and that encouraged me.”
In December 2020, Reach became part of handl Group. There was just one small problem. A global pandemic.
“Nothing really changed that first year. Nothing could change. But handl funded Reach, helped me build a bigger team and brought in that key business expertise I needed.”
Pandemic over. Now comes the growth.
Reach’s Present – and Future
Three and a half years on, Heather Batey still plays a key role at Reach, putting her clinical talent and expertise to great work on behalf of her customers and the people in their care.
“I’ve been supported and I feel like more of an all-rounded business strategist now. But I don’t have to be. I don’t need to be that Jack of all Trades any more. The team around me has grown, and it’s brilliant. Everything I’ve wanted to grow Reach has been signed off and backed.”
Reach’s team and customer base have expanded, and the company has found a great collaborative partner in Mind Right, one of the group’s start ups. Heather still gets to do the kind of work that she wants, set the clinical standards she wants, and the business is growing the way she wants.
All that’s changed is that there’s someone handling the numbers.
“I spoke to a friend just a week or so ago, and they asked if I was still at Reach. I explained that even though I could’ve left after a year, I can’t see myself leaving. Even as the team grows, we all continue to work well together. It’s letting me work to my strengths, and take opportunities I’d never have been able to take as an owner operator.”
As a key part of our health and social care division, Reach is certain to continue doing what the company’s done for over 30 years. Help people with TBIs reach the right outcome. It’s just that with handl’s backing, Heather and her team will be helping more people.
Because as with every business we invest in, Reach stands as proof that your growth really is our goal.