A local physical therapy company is embracing growth.
Sheltering Arms announced yesterday its acquisition of a local sports injury therapist to add to its rapidly expanding bottom line.
Business is apparently good in the realm of physical therapy. Sheltering Arms is bringing in about $46 million a year in revenue, according to President and Chief Executive Jim Sok. And in addition to its latest acquisition of West End-based PT Works, it has some other deals in the hopper and just scored a $2 million contract from the Defense Department.
Sheltering Arms’s courtship of PT Works began about a year ago.
“They weren’t necessarily looking to sell,” Sok said of its initial approach on PT Works. “It was a big step for them.”
Matt Wren, 47, founded PT Works in December 2002.
Wren, whose practice specializes in rehabbing sports injuries, didn’t say too much about the deal, other than that he was receptive to potential suitors.
“We were interested in what was going on out there in the world and had a meeting of the minds,” said Wren. “We finally come to an arrangement that’s agreeable for both groups.”
The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
“As with any contract, there’s a mutually agreeable arrangement, and I’ll leave it at that,” Wren said.
As part of the deal, the PT Works name will remain and it will become a division of Sheltering Arms. Wren, who was previously the owner, will now be the manager and will remain a clinician.
PT Works will also add its 10 employees to Sheltering Arms total of more than 600.
Both parties felt the PT Works name had strong brand recognition locally, and Sok said Sheltering Arms might use that recognition to expand PT Works in the area.
But Sheltering Arms targeted PT Works for more than just the name.
Sok said this latest acquisition was motivated by the need to expand Sheltering Arms geographically as it never had a presence in the West End. It also liked the growth in the sports injury side of the business.
“It’s a substantial business,” Sok said. “That’s a field we want to get into in a larger way.”
Sheltering Arms has been around for 121 years. It has 11 locations across Richmond and has seen its revenue grow about 9 percent in each of the past three years, Sok said. Physical therapy and rehab clearly aren’t impeded by the recession.
“We are growing to meet the needs of our community,” Sok said. “This acquisition represents that.”
And don’t forget the $2 million DOD contract it landed last week. As part of the contract, Sheltering Arms will be working with the Florida-based Institute for Human and Machine Cognition to develop and test a high tech exoskeleton for wounded soldiers.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
A local physical therapy company is embracing growth.
Sheltering Arms announced yesterday its acquisition of a local sports injury therapist to add to its rapidly expanding bottom line.
Business is apparently good in the realm of physical therapy. Sheltering Arms is bringing in about $46 million a year in revenue, according to President and Chief Executive Jim Sok. And in addition to its latest acquisition of West End-based PT Works, it has some other deals in the hopper and just scored a $2 million contract from the Defense Department.
Sheltering Arms’s courtship of PT Works began about a year ago.
“They weren’t necessarily looking to sell,” Sok said of its initial approach on PT Works. “It was a big step for them.”
Matt Wren, 47, founded PT Works in December 2002.
Wren, whose practice specializes in rehabbing sports injuries, didn’t say too much about the deal, other than that he was receptive to potential suitors.
“We were interested in what was going on out there in the world and had a meeting of the minds,” said Wren. “We finally come to an arrangement that’s agreeable for both groups.”
The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
“As with any contract, there’s a mutually agreeable arrangement, and I’ll leave it at that,” Wren said.
As part of the deal, the PT Works name will remain and it will become a division of Sheltering Arms. Wren, who was previously the owner, will now be the manager and will remain a clinician.
PT Works will also add its 10 employees to Sheltering Arms total of more than 600.
Both parties felt the PT Works name had strong brand recognition locally, and Sok said Sheltering Arms might use that recognition to expand PT Works in the area.
But Sheltering Arms targeted PT Works for more than just the name.
Sok said this latest acquisition was motivated by the need to expand Sheltering Arms geographically as it never had a presence in the West End. It also liked the growth in the sports injury side of the business.
“It’s a substantial business,” Sok said. “That’s a field we want to get into in a larger way.”
Sheltering Arms has been around for 121 years. It has 11 locations across Richmond and has seen its revenue grow about 9 percent in each of the past three years, Sok said. Physical therapy and rehab clearly aren’t impeded by the recession.
“We are growing to meet the needs of our community,” Sok said. “This acquisition represents that.”
And don’t forget the $2 million DOD contract it landed last week. As part of the contract, Sheltering Arms will be working with the Florida-based Institute for Human and Machine Cognition to develop and test a high tech exoskeleton for wounded soldiers.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].