The Fertility Partnership acquires Ultrasound Direct

Pregnancy market leaders conceive a new family business

Every four hours a baby is born in the UK originally conceived at a TFP clinic. As part of its vision for improved continuity of fertility care, the company has acquired majority interest in Ultrasound Direct, bringing together the largest providers in the UK of fertility conception and pregnancy monitoring services. Husband and wife, Mike and Jan Steward formed Ultrasound Direct to give people better baby scans; with longer appointments and partners welcome, they were more family orientated. Having started with just a single clinic, their company network is now booking 120,000 clients a year, with a team of over 230 sonographers running more than 80 clinics across the UK.

TFP runs more than 22 clinics across the UK and Poland, employs over 350 staff and achieves some of the highest pregnancy success rates in Europe. The acquisition of Ultrasound Direct means its patients and other families have the choice to continue to receive close and regular monitoring throughout their pregnancy; which is especially valued amongst couples who have conceived through IVF.

Ultrasound Direct’s network of clinics across the UK combined with the footprint of clinics owned and operated by TFP will significantly improve the convenience and accessibility for those undergoing IVF treatment. Typically a patient needs to visit a clinic between eight and ten times, sometimes travelling long distance after being referred by a GP for fertility treatment. The new partnership will mean people will be able to visit one of Ultrasound Direct’s many clinics for some of these appointments, such as blood tests, injections and ultrasound scans.

A qualified former NHS sonographer, Jan remarks on the next stage in her company’s journey “Ultrasound Direct is my baby and I can’t think of a better organisation than TFP to help us transition to the next level of growth. Ultrasound Direct enables assisted conception monitoring closer to home and our Babybond® pregnancy scans are a clear next step on from fertility. With TFP, our vision is making this unique combination accessible for more families and continuing our habit of innovation for ultrasound services and education.”

Andrew Came, CEO, TFP added:

“The combination of TFP and Ultrasound Direct leverages the expertise of two exceptional organisations and further enhances patient experience with improved accessibility and convenience of fertility care, during what can be a stressful time for couples undergoing treatment.”

About TFP

TFP is one of the UK’s largest fertility providers. Led by world experts in the field of fertility, its clinics report some of the highest pregnancy success rates in Europe. The group is renowned for its quality of care and 99% of patients would recommend TFP Clinics to a friend. It has clinics in Basingstoke, Belfast, Burton, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Guernsey, London, Nottingham, Oxford, Poole, Reading, Stratford-upon-Avon, Southampton, Swindon and Worcester and is opening soon in Maidenhead as well as other sites in Poland to complement its clinic in Krakow. www.thefertilitypartnership.com

About Ultrasound Direct

Ultrasound Direct is the UK’s largest provider of private pregnancy scans and delivers its services to customers through 9 direct and 7 franchised regions. As well as establishing it’s well known Babybond® brand in 1998, it was the first Company to introduce eCommerce into private ultrasound services in 2009. In the Company’s most recent customer quality assurance survey, more than 9 out of 10 of the 3,074 respondents were very likely to recommend Ultrasound Direct. www.ultrasound-direct.com