Optima Health PLC (AIM:OPT) chief executive, Jonathan Thomas, talked with Proactive about the company’s strong first half performance, posting 17% revenue growth. Thomas credited both organic expansion and recent M&A activity—including the acquisitions of Cognate Health in Ireland and Care First—as key contributors.
“The market backdrop is really good. There's great demand for our services. We're winning new business and we anticipate to continue to grow,” said Thomas.
He outlined how Cognate Health has now been rebranded as Optima Health Ireland, with the company beginning to leverage revenue synergies across jurisdictions. Care First, which complements Optima’s existing EAP and mental health operations, is expected to complete its integration in Q4 of the current financial year.
Thomas also discussed the company’s operational transformation programme, which is designed to improve margins and scale effectively as growth continues. This includes clinical enhancements, automating processes, and optimising central support functions.
The interview also touched on Optima’s £210 million Armed Forces contract, now being mobilised, and £8.3 million of new business either signed or at preferred bidder stage—positioning the company for growth into FY27 and FY28.
Looking ahead, Thomas reaffirmed the company’s target of reaching £200 million in revenue and £40 million EBITDA, driven by organic growth, operational efficiency, and further M&A.
Proactive: Jonathan, very good to speak with you this morning. You're out with your first half results and you delivered 17% revenue growth. What are the key drivers behind that performance and how sustainable is that momentum into the full year?
Jonathan Thomas: So yes, we're really pleased. In the half we delivered 17% growth on our revenues, which was as expected. And there are a couple of things underpinning that. One is our two M&A deals that we completed in the half, and then just at the end of the previous half, but also some good organic growth.
So yes, the M&A opportunities that we've delivered are starting to contribute to that, but also organic growth. From a sustainability perspective, we see more of that coming along. The market backdrop is really good. There's great demand for our services. We're winning new business and we anticipate continuing to grow.
Proactive: As you mentioned, you completed two acquisitions—Cognate Health in Ireland and Care First. How are these integrations progressing, and when should investors expect to see the full financial and operational benefits?
Jonathan Thomas: Yes, those are really great acquisitions. As you mentioned, Cognate in Ireland was our first acquisition outside of the UK. We've recently rebranded that Optima Health Ireland. From a go-to-market perspective, it's fully rebranded and we're now starting to really leverage those benefits—some group functions, revenue synergies, and looking at driving growth in the Ireland business, particularly where we have multinational clients across the UK and Ireland.
Care First is progressing well with integration. That’s combining with our existing mental health and EAP business. We anticipate completing that in Q4 of this financial year. Again, revenue synergy opportunities there. Care First is a great standalone business, came with around 1,000 clients, all of whom are likely to require other services that we deliver as a group.
Proactive: How will the transformation program improve efficiency and lift margins, Jonathan? And when should investors expect to see those gains?
Jonathan Thomas: Yeah, it's a good question. We’ve focused quite heavily since the IPO on our growth and getting our growth trajectory in the right place. We're happy with where that is now, but alongside that, we want to make sure we’re delivering on the bottom line and improving margins as we go.
So alongside growth initiatives, we kicked off transformation activity. That is focused on improving and differentiating our services, which we anticipate will drive growth and improve margins. That includes clinical enhancements, operational efficiency—automating processes and improving how it feels to work with Optima from a customer perspective—and ensuring our overhead and central functions are the right size to support effective scale.
Proactive: You’re mobilising a £210 million Armed Forces contract and you have £8.3 million of new business signed or at preferred bidder stage. How do these wins shape your revenue trajectory over the next 18–24 months?
Jonathan Thomas: Yeah, the nice thing is we've won those, so our growth trajectory over the next 12 to 18 months is as secure as it can be. Looking at the £8.3 million of won contracts, typically our conversion to revenue time is around three months. Some of that will come in Q4 and support our Q4 FY26 numbers. The majority will support FY27 numbers.
As for the UK Armed Forces deal, that’s much larger and will be coming in during calendar year 2027. FY28 is when we can expect to see a step-up in revenues from that contract.
Proactive: You’ve reaffirmed your ambition to reach £200 million revenue and £40 million EBITDA. What are the biggest levers—organic growth, tech investment, or further M&A—that will get you there?
Jonathan Thomas: A little bit of all of that, Stephen. Our strategy is straightforward and we’ve got good line of sight. We’ll focus on further organic growth—doing more of what we do, expanding wallet share with customers, and potentially expanding into adjacent services.
We’ll also continue the operational transformation, making sure that as we grow, our EBITDA margins keep pace. Finally, we’ll look to augment that with M&A, as we have done since and before the IPO. There are lots of opportunities and we’re really confident in the outlook.
Proactive: Well, I hope you'll continue to keep us updated with your progress. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.