ShiftKey

Private Equity Manager (GP)

Case study

About the company

ShiftKey operates a leading marketplace platform that connects available nurses with healthcare facilities across the United States. The platform allows nurses to share their credentials and then apply to work daily shifts that match their requirements.

ShiftKey provides staffing solutions to over 10,000 facilities in over 30 states and boasts a network of hundreds of thousands of nurses.

Investment rationale

• The company has benefitted from the fundamental supply/demand imbalance caused by an ageing population and a severe, ongoing nursing shortage in the USA where 94% of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in the USA are understaffed. Both of these situations were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in an increasing requirement for per-diem nurses to cover shifts.
• Growing numbers of nurses are using the platform given the higher pay and flexibility offered by per-diem shifts.
• The company has demonstrated rapid organic growth since its founding in 2016, and has an impressive financial profile with strong margins and customer retention.

Active management and value creation

Lorient Capital is a middle market, healthcare-specialist manager focused specifically on healthcare services and technology. They have owned the business since March 2021.

ShiftKey recently completed a strategic investment in OnShift, a provider of workforce management technology for post-acute and long-term care facilities, creating the first complete solution to effectively manage nursing schedules. The investment will significantly increase the stickiness of ShiftKey’s customer relationships, enable cross-selling opportunities and provide customers with new and innovative products that will help benefit their organisations.

The company’s core market is in post-acute care, but the private equity manager sees growth opportunities in other healthcare end markets such as pharmacy, physical therapy and dentistry.