www.acquisition-international.com • May 2026 Featuring: Pembroke House: British Curriculum Boarding School in the Heart of Kenya Todays Dental: The UK’s Deeply Human Dental Group
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Contents 4 News - MIAMI REALTORS® and RWorld Announce Merger - Avex Music Group Announce Phase One $100 Million Global Publishing Acquisition Strategy 6 Think Strategic a School of Thought 8 Samel Hospital: Reshaping the Future of Healthcare 9 Pembroke House: British Curriculum Boarding School in the Heart of Kenya 10 Almstead – Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care: The Science of Preserving Nature 11 ProcureAbility: Procurement Consulting Firm of the Year 2026 – USA & Innovation Award for Digital Solutions 2026 – USA 12 Nannytax: Less Paperwork for Parents, More Family-Time for All 13 Todays Dental: The UK’s Deeply Human Dental Group 8 6 10
NEWS MIAMI REALTORS® and RWorld Announce Merger The MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) and Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® (RWorld), along with their respective MLSs are merging into a single association and MLS, bringing together two legacies for one shared future. Effective May 11, 2026, the historic merger will set records for the largest, fastest, and most seamless merger in the history of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). As a unified association now encompassing 93,000 members, it will be the largest local Realtor association in the world. The organization’s proposed new name will be Miami and South Florida REALTORS®, pending approval by NAR. The two leaders who led the merger effort will be the first to lead the combined organization, which has important information for members at MiamiandRworld.com. Alfredo Pujol, chairman of the board of MIAMI, will serve as the first Chairman of the Board. RWorld President Jonathan Dolphus will be the 2026 Chair-Elect and 2027 Chairman of the Board. Katherine Arteta will be the 2027 Chair-Elect. “Two of the strongest MLS and Realtor organizations in the U.S. are now one, building on South Florida’s momentum as a global real estate powerhouse and shaping the industry’s next frontier,” Pujol said. “This is a win for South Florida, our 93,000 collective members, and their clients. Our members will have broader, more fluid access to the data, tools, and services they need—without the limitations or complexity of multiple memberships. Ultimately, this will allow South Florida Realtors to deliver an even higher level of service.” The merger fully integrates the largest U.S. local Realtor association, MIAMI, with 56,000 members, and RWorld, the third largest with 37,000 members. Together, the 93,000 membership is larger than 47 state associations, more than double the next largest local association in the U.S. at 43,000 members and about 33 percent larger than the next largest in the world. No other local real estate association can match the power of its members like MIAMI and RWorld, which sold $69 billion in total real estate volume in 2025. Teresa King Kinney and Dionna Hall will lead the newly formed association as Co-CEOs, carrying forward a legacy of more than 60 years of women’s leadership. At the end of 2026, Kinney will retire from her 33-year career leading MIAMI. She announced her retirement plans on February 20, 2026. This leadership transition supports continuity and stability, with Hall remaining in the role as CEO of Miami and South Florida REALTORS® & BeachesMLS in 2027 and beyond. Division boards for both organizations will preserve the cultures their members have long valued. Upon merger completion, Evian White De Leon, MIAMI chief operating officer and chief legal counsel, will be the Miami and South Florida REALTORS® COO and Chief of the MIAMI REALTORS® Division. Kim Hansen, RWorld COO, will be COO of BeachesMLS and Chief of RWorld Division. “This merger reflects the continued growth and evolution of the South Florida real estate market,” said Dolphus, who will become the first African American Chairman of the Board in the history of both MIAMI REALTORS® and RWorld. “By bringing our organizations together, we are creating a more connected and efficient Association and MLS, one that delivers complete MLS data, expanded access to tools and services, and a simpler way for our members to do business. Together, we’re focused on helping our members become more profitable and successful in the global marketplace.” After the merger is complete, both MLSs will initially continue to operate as is with separate entities. The MLSs will be combined in the near future, offering a complete data set and forming the thirdlargest MLS in the nation with about 93,000 subscribers. Bright MLS and the California Regional MLS (CRMLS) at 101,000 and 99,000 subscribers, respectively, are the largest per T3 Sixty 2025 MLS rankings. When formed, the Miami and South Florida REALTORS® Beaches MLS will be the largest MLS owned by one U.S. Realtor association. This means more data, more education, more business and more innovation for all REALTORS® in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, St. Lucie, and parts of Martin counties, to better serve buyers, sellers, tenants, investor clients and more. Members will have access to Flexmls and Matrix in the new organization, giving them two choices to do more business. The association offers more than 2,830 educational seminars each year for members and member access to over 300 premium marketing tools, products and services. The new organization further expands and enhances MIAMI’s award-winning global program, with collectively more than 437 signed international agreements with global real estate associations. This generates substantial referral business and other opportunities with partner organizations throughout the world, increasing the association’s international leverage and capacity as it continues to promote South Florida to buyers, investors, tourists and global corporations worldwide. The unified association also has 11 data exchanges with the largest MLSs in the U.S. and Canada. Our members and our data exchange partners have access to each other’s MLS data, which creates unmatched listing exposure for South Florida properties and builds incredible referral opportunities. The association will also soon launch its participation in the Global Data Exchange (GDX) involving multiple countries. GDX enables MLSs and real estate organizations to share public listing data across borders.
NEWS The first acquisition under the catalog acquisition strategy is the publishing catalog of acclaimed producer and songwriter Infamous (Marco Rodriguez), whose work has generated billions of global streams and includes “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, a multi-platinum Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 record and one of the most commercially successful songs of the past year. The catalog also includes work with Lil Wayne and Charlie Puth. “At Avex Music Group, we are focused on investing in culturally defining music at every stage, from creation through long-term ownership,” said Brandon Silverstein, CEO of Avex Music Group and Founder of S10. “Our success in frontline publishing has created strong global momentum, and expanding into catalog is a natural evolution of that strategy. This initial $100 million represents the first phase of a broader, long-term commitment to building a scaled global catalog business.” The publishing acquisition strategy is led by Avex Music Group CEO Brandon Silverstein, alongside CFO Ryusuke (Ryan) Kamada and Spencer LeBoff, SVP, Head of Publishing & Acquisitions. Financing for the initiative is supported through City National Bank. https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2965355/Avex_Music_ Group_Ryan_Kamada_Brandon_Silverstein_Spencer_LeBoff. jpg?w=500 Avex Music Group Announce Phase One $100 Million Global Publishing Acquisition Strategy Avex Music Group (AMG) announced a $100 million initial commitment to acquire premier music publishing catalogs, music publishing companies, and culturally significant copyrights over the next 12 months, representing phase one of the company’s global publishing catalog acquisition strategy. Today’s announcement establishes catalog acquisitions as a core division within AMG’s global publishing business, building on the company’s continued momentum in frontline publishing across North America, Asia, and key international markets. AMG’s expansion into catalog follows a period of significant frontline success, including its recently announced global publishing administration partnership with Bruno Mars, as well as contributions to major global releases and chart performance across the past year. The company’s publishing roster has been behind culturally impactful records including the Grammy Award winning song “Folded” by Kehlani (Kamal Wilson), “Nokia” by Drake (Elkan), and multiple releases from Tate McRae including “Sports Car,” “Tit for Tat,” and “Revolving Door” (Grant Boutin), among others, further reinforcing AMG’s position in today’s global music landscape. As a Tokyo-founded company operating as a global music and entertainment group, AMG continues to scale its presence internationally, bridging East and West through a unified creative and commercial platform.
Feature 6 | Acquisition International, May 2026 Think Strategic a School of Thought A consultancy name Think Strategic a popular two word that often appear as titles of textbooks, article either academic or business. There are numerous materials written by authors on Think Strategic although there seem to be a silent crisis happening when the word strategic is used by people and organisations. Pondering on the word “strategic” has different school of thoughts on the definition that best fits changing business presentation of wordles actions. So, there is a firm named Think Strategic UK Ltd. The founding of Think Strategic UK as a consultancy and education for schooling of business. At the heart of the ethos “A disruptor that Makes Impossible Possible.” Think Strategic UK is setting a school of thought on the best way to construct strategic thinking in the application of strategy using a military perspective. The infamous word Strategic brings to mind words like strategic objectives, direction, along with goals, and vision. In essences strategic poses a challenge for senior leaders and manager to set direction and action when a CEO does not clearly set a directional path it’s company should take. When talking about strategic vision a CEO should provide a panoramic view of “where the company is going and actions to proceed” a rationale for why this makes business sense for a company. A clearly articulated strategic vision communicates a CEO’s aspiration to staff and stakeholders and steer its energies of a company’s resource and capability in a laser direction. A Strategic Synopsis Strategic is centred on a company’s strategy construction; a set of action to outperform its competitors to achieve superior success. Strategy at its substance is too be different from its rivals - don’t do or can’t do. A key element of a company’s strategy should be 95% different that differ in many important respects – tactics and advantage. This mean that a firm should think outside of the box with their product and service offering. Not just tweak products and services around the edge; but go fully out in the opposite direction. Stop being conventional! Strategic is decided by the firm’s strategy. To think about strategic really needs laser focus on “Actions” founded in a firm’s strategy. A hammer should be taken to dig out from the CEO’s head the critical strategies to build and define strategic actions to enable a firm being different from its rivals. Forming strategic action is dug out of the CEO’s head to support a process of military crafting of four stages: designing a strategic vision, deciding intentions, constructing a strategy, and executing chosen strategy. CEO Hammering over the Head – The Does: Be graphic, Keep it focused, Be sure the action to delivery is feasible. Indicate the directional path makes good business sense. Laser Focus – Make the Impossible Possible This ethos looks deep into the mindset of unyielding curiosity, resistance, and enthusiasm to determine if existing ideas and conventional thinking can be broken when it comes to deconstruct vague designs about “Strategy” and “Strategic”. Think Strategic UK is going against all conventional practices by lasering in on these questions: 1. What established truth are limiting our think? 2. What if the current constraints were removed? 3. Are we defining the problem too narrowly? 4. Do CEO’s have a clear strategy action for their business? Education Comprehension What is missing from our understanding of a critical subject matter of military thinking? Military thinking of strategy and strategic is the founding of these two words which have common practices for business although there are chunks missing when it comes to doing constructive show and tell of strategy ideas in teams, companies, and organisations. Why is military thinking lacking in business? Is blaming the CEO a first, when it comes to a firm’s strategy top priorities! As a start military thinking into strategy is to clearly explain a business’s activities (actions), directions, and markets engagement. Businesses are short-changing themselves by not adopting military thinking to enable critical firm’s activities, directions, resource, and capabilities. A missing part is the conventional concepts that is not new or reinvented; it is missing from a firm understanding of how to apply these important concepts that can support the design, adoption of the firm’s strategy activities. Making military thinking simple Think Strategic UK have laid out the missing chunk of concepts that are not been constructively adopted. 1. Competitive Advantage: a primary objective of a firm’s strategy to identify, create and sustain a competitive strategy. 2. Firm Growth: a concept of growth a firm can view as a collection of advice that explains how and why firms grow. Also looks at the resource that is combined within a firm. 3. Core Competence: a focus on what an organisation does particularly well. Is firms-specific collection of skills, insights, and capabilities that represents accumulated knowledge, organisational learning, and focused investment. Military strategy is focused on achieving strategic actions through the use of military power, while business strategy if focused on achieving commercial action through the allocation of resource and capabilities to design products and services. Is Command & Control Right Doctrine Using military speak and use of Command & Control is still being researched to its effective and capabilities in military commands in the UK. Here is a definition of Command & Control: Niven G, Dstl, UK (2021) The Anatomy of Command and Control: A Generic Functional Model.
Definition: “Command: the authority vested in member of the armed forces for the direction, coordination, and control of military forces.” “Control: the authority exercised by a commander over part of the activities of subordinate organisations, or other organisations not normally under his command, that encompasses the responsibility for implementing orders or directives.” Why such a focal point on Command & Control? A company, organisations have structures that operates like a military command have an organisational chart with a CEO as the head of the organisation. In a military command has a General or Commander only then it is given the title Command. A context to Command & Control (C2) a dynamic and adaptive methodological process to design and execute shared action, whose purpose is to provide focus for people and organisations so they may integrate and expand their resource and activities to achieve desired actions. There are comparisons Command and Control that businesses could build to enabling strategy direction knowing the complexities businesses tackle to identify capabilities and resources, these are analytical to a CEO to understanding strategy design to its strategic actions. A baseline for Command and Control is adopting military laser thinking on capability. A firm’s capability or competence is the capacity of a firm to perform internal activities competently. Capabilities are established and enabled through the deployment of companies’ resources. Military laser thinking for capabilities: a forceful and adaptive methodology to design and execute joint actions. Encompasses essential functions, to creating shared awareness also responsiveness of command intention. Knowing allocation of resource to create effective assessing progress, recognising a firm to change approach to command and control. The plan of action. Reflection: The interface between strategy and firm, where would command and control have a major impact on strategy thinking!
8 | Acquisition International, May 2026 Samel Hospital: Reshaping the Future of Healthcare The healthcare industry is experiencing rapid evolution, driven by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence and digital health technologies. As the sector continues to transform, a major challenge remains in the gap between innovation and real-world implementation. Many of these emerging solutions fail to deliver impact because they are not designed for integration into clinical workflows. Enter Samel Hospital, a private institution whose focus on practical, evidence-based, and clinician-centred solutions has positioned it at the forefront of applied healthcare innovation. Director and Doctor Zaira Nicolau told us more as Samel Hospital is named in the Global Excellence Awards 2026. Contact: Zaira Nicolau Company: Samel Hospital Web Address: www.samel.com.br Samel Hospital is a private healthcare institution that has operated in Manaus, Brazil, for more than four decades. The institution delivers integrated healthcare services that combine clinical excellence with realworld technological innovation. Its service ecosystem spans emergency care, impatient and outpatient services, diagnostics, and digital healthcare solutions developed through innovation hub Samel Health Tech. The institution operates a network of nine units, comprising three hospitals and six medical centres, with plans to introduce an additional two hospitals in the coming years. These units are operated by a multiprofessional team made up of more than 900 doctors, offering 24-hour medical assistance to more than 144,000 clients and partners. These teams offer corporate health plans, as well as medical and hospital assistance, supported by certifications from the National Accreditation Organisation, PQA, PNCQ, and more. “We are guided by the core principles of patient-centred care, clinical responsibility, continuous innovation, and operational excellence,” Zaira Nicolau told us. “Our mission is to improve patient outcomes, efficiency, and access to high-quality healthcare by translating advanced technologies into practical, safe, and scalable tools used directly in clinical workflows.” A central component of Samel Hospital’s offering is Samel Artificial Intelligence (SAMIA), an AI-powered clinical support system fully embedded into the institution’s electronic health record. Designed to operate with real clinical workflows, the platform supports healthcare professionals throughout the patient journey by assisting with digital pretriage, structured history-taking, clinical documentation, diagnostic reasoning, exam recommendations, medication interaction alerts, and discharge guidance. SAMIA’s recommendations are based on upto-date scientific evidence, international clinical guidelines, and institutional protocols. The platform also includes specialist AI agents that provide instant, evidence-based support to physicians during care delivery. It functions as a real-time clinical copilot within the physician’s workflow, supporting decision-making, documentation, and management without disrupting the crucial flow of care delivery. The impact of SAMIA has been remarkable. After implementation in the emergency department, the platform helped to reduce time to first medical evaluation by up to 34% and emergency department length of stay by 24%. It also achieved approximately 98% documentation reliability in AI-generated histories, approximately 90% agreement with physicians’ final ICD-based diagnoses, and made medication interaction analysis 68% faster, improving both clinical efficiency and patient safety. “The core benefit of SAMIA is its ability to enhance clinical efficiency while maintaining high standards of safety and evidence-based care,” said Zaira Nicolau. “Both healthcare professionals and patients benefit from faster, more structured, and more informed clinical encounters. Physicians experience improved workflow efficiency, reduced documentation burden, and better access to real-time clinical insights; while patients benefit from shorter waiting times and more coordinated care.” In recent years, Samel Hospital has dedicated itself to expanding SAMIA across multiple stages of the patient journey. A key challenge that arose during this project was ensuring seamless integration into complex healthcare workflows without increasing cognitive or operational burden. The Samel team overcame this by prioritising usability, governance, and adaptability, allowing clinicians to validate and control AI-generated outcomes. This approach has ensured both high adoption rates and sustained performance improvements, made successful by continuous input from multidisciplinary teams that ensure strong alignment with real clinical needs. Over the next five years, Samel Hospital intends to continue expanding the capabilities of SAMIA, with plans to incorporate more advanced predictive analytics and personalised clinical pathways. Ultimately, the institution’s goal is to deepen the role of artificial intelligence as a supportive layer within clinical practice, further enhancing decision-making, improving outcomes, and optimising resource utilisation. This is a mission that will retain the institution’s position at the forefront of applied healthcare innovation and has earned Samel Hospital its recognition as Brazil’s Most Innovative Clinical Healthcare Network 2026. Looking to the future, Zaira Nicolau shared: “Our focus is on continued growth in both infrastructure and innovation. We plan to further expand SAMIA across clinical and administrative areas, to continue improving efficiency, safety, and the patient experience. We are also advancing the construction of two new hospitals, which reflects our long-term commitment to broadening access to high-quality healthcare throughout Northern Brazil.”
May 2026, Acquisition International | 9 British Curriculum Boarding School in the Heart of Kenya uided by the belief that the best prep school education is one where children are given the space to be children, Pembroke House boasts a safe, secure playground comprising more than 140 acres of forest, field, and stream. This gives it a unique position to preserve the magic of childhood, a foundation it then uses to deliver an outstanding academic and co-curricular education grounded in the British National Curriculum, which is recognised for its quality and heritage by over 160 countries worldwide. Although it may specialise in one of the most widely adopted curriculums on the planet, Pembroke House has certainly put its own unique spin on the approach it takes to learning, seen through the device-free measures it has put in place. These encourage children to benefit from real conversation, real play, and a genuine sense of independence. This is not all, as Adventure Learning is something else deeply embedded in its process, taking advantage of all its outdoor space on the edge of East Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Exploring Pembroke House’s Adventure Learning in more detail, Deborah told us: “The experience at Pembroke is designed to help children move beyond theory and put their ideas into practice in the real world. This gives academic learning more texture and relevance, while also building confidence, resilience, and curiosity. For many families, this is one of the clearest expressions of what makes the school special.” Pembroke House’s distinctive way of approaching education pays off through the academic results it achieves. For example, 42% of children received scholarships for senior schools in the 2024/25 academic year and a 100% pass rate was achieved across all of its music and LAMDA examinations. However, grades are just one way to measure success, and the school chooses instead to emphasise developing the whole child. Its learning is one example of this, but it is also seen through boarding and extra-curricular activities. “The main reason I went with Pembroke rather than any other school is its promise to give my children the space to be children – a school that is formal, yes, but where being a child comes before the rehearsed, institutionalised forms that schools have become. ” – Pembroke Parent Boarding is a key part of the experience Pembroke House delivers, and children who stay here benefit from a high level of care and excellent relationships within its boarding community, which empower the children and ensure that they feel safe, happy, and able to succeed. There are two boarding houses at the school, Scholes House for girls and Mackie House for boys, and both offer adjacent common rooms, with boys able to play table tennis and drink cocoa around a fire pit before bed, and girls enjoying a piano, table tennis, and a fairy garden. More than just the term-time accommodation itself, boarding offers a chance to foster important personal qualities and life skills, with resilience, tolerance, respect, empathy, compassion, and self-discipline being just some of the things that pupils learn as they stay at Pembroke House, alongside building strong relationships with their peers and friendships that will last them a lifetime. As for the extra-curricular activities on offer at Pembroke House, the school itself is home to an expansive sports field where games like cricket are played, tennis courts, a pony paddock, and even a moto-x track. Beyond this, a modern sports hall complete with squash courts can be found in the central cluster of school buildings, alongside a swimming pool. Numerous activities are also run throughout the term, from school discos and craft days through to seasonal tie-ins around the likes of Christmas and Bonfire Night. Ultimately, all of this points to Pembroke House as a leading prep boarding school in Kenya, with the education it provides offering both depth and a real balance. It is a school where children can achieve academically whilst also having the time, space, and encouragement to play, explore, create, take responsibility, and grow with confidence. Pembroke House is not a generic prep school in an attractive setting, it uses this environment to support the unique educational experience it offers, distinguishing it across its field. Contact: registrar@pembrokehouse.sc.ke Company: Pembroke House Web Address: https://pembrokehouse.sc.ke/ Pembroke House is a co-educational prep school in Kenya. Providing a world-class education for boarding and day pupils from 6 months to 13 years, the school combines the British National Curriculum with an encompassing co-curricular programme, flexible boarding, and an emphasis on achievement, character, and integrity. Following its recognition as the Best Co-Educational Boarding School 2026 – Kenya, we caught up with Pembroke House’s Deborah Boyd-Moss for more on its blend of academic strength, individual care, and adventurous education. G
10 | Acquisition International, May 2026 The Science of Preserving Nature eadquartered in New Rochelle, New York, with branch offices in Hawthorne, New York; Stamford, Connecticut; and North Haledon, New Jersey, Almstead’s services are offered to the communities of Westchester, Putnam, Fairfield County, northern New Jersey, and parts of New York City. Its mission across all of these locations is the same: to provide expert, science-driven tree, shrub, and lawn care, through services designed to both protect and enhance the landscapes its clients depend on. In particular, Almstead is known for its tree pruning/removal, tree risk assessments, plant health care, lawn care (organic or traditional), custom blend fertilisation, soil care/analysis, disease/pest management, and professional consulting services. When it comes to likes of its plant health care and organic care offerings, methods such as compost teas, OMRI-approved products, and Air Spade soil decompaction are all utilised, highlighting a scientific and comprehensive approach to what it sees as problem solving. “We view tree and lawn care as a problem-solving business, and believe the best solutions only come from knowledgeable experts. That’s why our arborists and technicians are professionally trained and certified, and why Almstead holds TCIA accreditation. ” Joining this esteemed arboriculture and lawn care firm in September last year, Merrick’s path to Almstead has been shaped by years of experience building digital marketing and growth capabilities across several industries. His previous roles have taken him from marketing at companies like NuEnergen and MetroPlusHealth to digital marketing leadership at SavATree. Merrick has always been motivated to harness digital strategies to drive real growth, and the green industry is ideal for this. Merrick explained: “When the opportunity came to bring my expertise to a legacy brand like Almstead, it was a natural fit. The green industry is one where trust, expertise, and long-term relationships matter enormously, and that’s where smart digital strategy can make a real difference.” As for what this difference looks like, it means building a bridge between more than 60 years of arboriculture experience and the modern digital channels where today’s clients find and evaluate their service providers. Combining a data-driven approach with a people-first ethos, this work sees Merrick use analytics and digital tools to make better decisions, without losing sight of the fact that this is a business built on the personal relationships between its arborists and the communities they work in. As a result of him striking this balance, clients new and old trust Almstead for its blend of scientific expertise and genuine care, something reflected in both its high rate of return work and the glowing testimonials it receives from clients. To ensure it preserves this legacy of excellence well into the future, a number of goals are in place over the next five years to drive innovation across the business. For example, on the digital side, the company is in the process of migrating its web presence to a WordPress platform, using a content strategy based on what its clients are actually searching for and engaging with. Merrick is also building a science-led content programme across social media, positioning Almstead as an educator, not just a service provider. Finally, Merrick shared: “Almstead is continuing to invest in organic and sustainable care practices, expanding our organic offerings. We also want to deepen our use of data and technology in how we assess tree risk, manage client relationships, and optimise our operations.” He continued: “The goal is to be the most trusted, knowledgeable, and accessible tree and landscape care company in the tri-state area, full stop.” 62 years ago, Almstead started with a chainsaw, some rope, and a station wagon. Today, it is running science-based health care programmes for plants and delivering educational content grounded in ISA ANSI standards, all whilst migrating to digital infrastructure. What is so impressive about the evolution of this family business is that it has remained just that, having grown across the region without losing its soul. For the part Merrick is playing in this as the company continues to evolve, he is more than fitting of this award. More on Almstead – Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care can be found below. Contact: Merrick Lee Jr. Company: Almstead – Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care Web Address: https://almstead.com/ Founded in 1964 by Richard E. Almstead, Almstead – Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care has gone from a oneman operation to a full-service arboriculture and lawn care firm serving residential and commercial clients across the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area. Merrick Lee Jr. is Almstead’s Head of Growth, and his role is to strengthen its 60-year legacy by bridging data and creativity. With Merrick being named the Most Strategic Business Growth Leader 2026 – Arboriculture (North East USA), we caught up with him for more on the role he plays in this familyowned business. H
May 2026, Acquisition International | 11 intentionally in our employees’ growth, wellbeing, and longterm careers because empowered, supported teams deliver better outcomes. Our consultants combine subject matter expertise with realworld experience, and they collaborate seamlessly across engagements to solve complex challenges and create enterprise value.” ProcureAbility is balancing AI adoption with the preservation of human judgment, deep industry expertise, and compelling storytelling, guiding our clients on how to integrate AI to drive scale and precision while keeping human insight at the center of every engagement. In parallel, we demonstrate effective AI integration through our own service delivery. ProcureAbility continuously monitors and analyzes market developments, builds specialized capabilities, and evolves its services to meet changing client needs. The firm expertly articulates its differentiated value, drawing on more than 30 years of procurement focused experience to demonstrate how its solutions deliver measurable impact. By pairing innovation with proven expertise and deep client relationships, ProcureAbility remains well positioned to adapt to market change and sustain long term success as the industry leader. “Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, we remain optimistic despite ongoing global economic and geopolitical challenges,” Conrad concluded. “We anticipate continued growth across both our client portfolio and our internal team, reflecting sustained demand for specialized procurement and supply chain expertise. As organizations navigate increasing complexity, risk, and transformation, we are well positioned to support them with flexible, expert led solutions that deliver measurable, enterprise-wide impact.” Contact: Kathleen M. Pomento Company: ProcureAbility Web Address: www.procureability.com Procurement Consulting Firm of the Year 2026 – USA & Innovation Award for Digital Solutions 2026 – USA ProcureAbility, a Jabil company, is a leading provider of procurement and supply chain services, dedicated exclusively to elevating procurement functions for more than 30 years. The firm specializes in procurement consulting and managed services, bringing unmatched expertise to every engagement. Its comprehensive offerings span advisory services, managed services, digital and AI enabled solutions, and staffing and recruitment, allowing clients to achieve measurable, sustained performance improvements across the procurement value chain. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, ProcureAbility supports global organizations across a broad range of industries, including utilities, financial services, consumer packaged goods, technology services, life sciences, and more. While its client base is diverse, the firm’s focus is singular: procurement and supply chain management. Unlike generalist consulting firms, procurement is the only discipline ProcureAbility serves, enabling its teams to bring unmatched depth, specialization, and practical expertise to every engagement. “Our unique selling point lies in our exclusive focus on procurement, combined with a highly flexible service delivery model,” Conrad explained. “We offer onsite, hybrid, fully remote, and offshore support options, allowing clients to tailor solutions to their organizational structure, geographic footprint, and budget. We don’t believe in one size fits all offerings. Instead, we design fully customized solutions aligned to each client’s maturity, transformation objectives, and operating model, whether that involves short term staffing support or a multi year, end to end managed services engagement.” This approach is further strengthened by ProcureAbility’s ability to combine industry leading best practices with deep, real-world experience. Its teams harness advanced analytics, market intelligence, benchmarking, and proprietary methodologies to deliver practical, measurable results. The firm continues to invest in modern technology and digital platforms, ensuring its solutions remain innovative, scalable, and closely aligned with how procurement organizations operate today. ProcureAbility fosters a culture grounded in teamwork, mutual respect, and opportunity. By embracing diverse perspectives and promoting shared accountability, the firm strengthens its ability to solve clients’ most complex challenges while sustaining long term success as both a trusted partner and an employer of choice. This people first approach has earned ProcureAbility Great Place to Work® certification, fueled its rapid growth in recent years, and supported its acquisition by Jabil in 2023. “Our success as a consulting firm starts with our people, and translates directly into results for our clients,” Conrad affirmed. “We invest The consulting industry is in the midst of a fundamental shift, from broad, generalized advisory offerings to focused, high impact specialization. Today’s clients demand deep domain expertise, measurable results, and rapid execution. In this environment, generalist firms struggle to compete with specialists who deliver precision, speed, and tangible value. For organizations seeking best in class procurement and supply chain consulting, ProcureAbility, stands apart. The firm delivers specialized, integrated solutions across procurement transformation, AI powered technology, and managed services, helping clients drive sustainable performance at scale. We recently sat down with Conrad Snover, CEO of ProcureAbility, to explore how the firm is redefining excellence in modern consulting. ProcureAbility
12 | Acquisition International, May 2026 Nannytax: Less Paperwork for Parents, More Family-Time for All As more households hire nannies across the UK, the country’s nanny market is currently in strong demand. Navigating the ins and outs of hiring and paying a nanny can feel overwhelming for any new employer, whether they are recruiting their first nanny, returning to work after parental leave, or even building a career in childcare. This is where Nannytax steps in, an award-winning market leader in nanny employment and payroll services. We spoke with Kirsty Wild, Head of Sales and Marketing at Nannytax, as the company is named in the Global Excellence Awards 2026. Contact: Kirsty Wild Company: Nannyax Web Address: www.nannytax.co.uk “We’re here to make employing a nanny easy and stress-free. ” Standing as the largest nanny PAYE provider in the UK, Nannytax supports families with their responsibilities as a nanny employer whilst removing the hassle and easing the admin involved in employing a nanny. The company offers a fully inclusive nanny PAYE solution with simple and transparent pricing, with services spanning nanny payroll, nanny tax, bespoke employment contracts, and ongoing HR support. Over the last 30 years, Nannytax has earned the trust of more than 70,000 families to run their domestic payroll. Since its inception in 1993, the market leader in nanny and domestic employment payroll has built a reputation for its excellent customer service and satisfaction, amassing more than 700 testimonials on Trustpilot and glowing recommendations from over 200 UK-based nanny agencies. Ultimately, Nannytax aims to help households avoid unnecessary stress or admin, freeing up space for them to spend more time on what matters most. Its tax services offer end-toend payroll, meaning that the Nannytax team liaises with HMRC on the customer’s behalf, processes payroll, provides a bespoke nanny contract, and provides unlimited HR support. The company also offers a fully managed Workplace Pensions Service and, through its Nannytax Plus Service, even pays the nanny and HMRC on its client’s behalf each month. Always striving to remain one step ahead of the competition, Nannytax has recently undertaken a significant IT technology transformation project designed to deliver a more personalised and intuitive user experience. Shaped by customer and nanny feedback alike, the project comprises a new CRM system, a new nanny tax calculator, and a new Members Area, with enhanced functionality, improved accessibility, and a range of new features that will better support client needs. “This is the biggest technological transformation for the company since it began in 1993,” said Kirsty, “and we are already seeing improvements with our new email integration and phone integration. Many more advancements lie on the horizon for Nannytax, as the company prepares to undergo further operational transformation. This technology-first attitude showcases their commitment to ensuring the customer experience is as streamlined and straightforward as possible. For over three decades, Nannytax has been on a mission to uplift and empower households across the country as they embark on their nanny employment journey. The business has demonstrated deep sectorial expertise, utilisation of advanced technologies, and an unwavering commitment to making the process of employing a nanny as stress- and hassle-free as possible. For these reasons, we at Acquisition International are delighted to recognise Nannytax as the UK’s Leading Payroll Tech Innovators 2026.
May 2026, Acquisition International | 13 The UK’s Deeply Human Dental Group hether someone is looking to sell their dental practice, embark on a new challenge as a nurse or a receptionist, improve their leadership skills as a practice manager, create beautiful smiles as a dentist, or find a new opportunity in a purpose-driven and peoplefocused company, Todays Dental has everything they need across its organisation. Comprising more than 135,000 patients and 700 people, this purpose-led dental group is looking to change what it means to run a successful dental group. First and foremost, this starts with the cultural model of the four Ps (purpose, people, patients, profit), within which the central and practice teams of Todays Dental work. Using this model, the aim is to create a hub of inspiring, authentic leaders who empower and support, with success being measured through happiness of their people as well as the profit they create . One of the most important elements of Todays Dental’s work is change management. Steve explained: “When a new practice team joins Todays Dental, we pay a lot of attention to the emotional aspect of this change , both as a team and on an individual basis. We’ve therefore created a Transition Pathway where the goal is to set new teams up for success both practically and emotionally as they become part of our network.” The development of this Transition Pathway stemmed from the recognition that a practice shifting in ownership following an acquisition and during its transition into the Todays Dental ecosystem was a cultural inflection point. Introducing the role of Transition Manager which is designed to support a team’s psychological shift by ensuring they have a dedicated person they can turn to for clarity and reassurance from the start, sees everyone set up for success, through clear, early communication and inclusion in broader strategic goals. For instance, during the first six months, the group runs a Discover, Dream Day, which sees an entire practice close for the day to give its team chance to co-create a shared vision for its future. Steve told us: “These immersive sessions are crucial for fostering psychological safety and enabling honest dialogue between the team.” This is followed up by a Practice Roadmap session that pulls together everything discussed, forming the basis of business planning for the practice from that point on. “It’s been super exciting so far since the Discover, Dream Day, to be able to start planning to implement what the team want for the practice, and how they see the practice in the future.” – Practice Manager Over the last few months, Todays Dental has also had the pleasure of working with one of its practice teams to transform the service they provide to patients. Due to a series of external factors outside of their control, the practice team had started to become disillusioned with their long-standing approach to delivering patient care. After many conversations about making changes, the collective decision was made that 2026 should be the year for this. A huge collaborative effort then took place, the results of which are already starting to be felt by the practice team and their patients, demonstrating the strategic value of their cultural model and of involving people to ensure changes are implemented as effectively as possible for all parties. Securing these results at a time like this, when dental consolidation has made the acquisition landscape more competitive and crowded, sees Todays Dental able to stand out as a result of the flexibility and culture it offers. Steve added: “We’ve put people, structures, and systems in place that enable us to support our practice teams in a way that is aligned to our purpose and vision.” This attracts like-minded businesses looking for an organisation that can meet their short-term needs whilst also protecting their heritage. Lastly, when it comes to the future of Todays Dental, new digital infrastructure is set to be introduced into its practices, enhancing patient workflows and improving the ability of its practice teams to deliver exceptional patient journeys. However, these kinds of initiatives would be nothing without engaged people to support the results, and this is why the group is also looking to expand the central team who have been crucial every step of the way. Contact: Steve Williams Company: Todays Dental Web Address: https://www.todaysdental.co.uk/ As a uniquely people-focused dental group, Todays Dental’s purpose is to improve lives and create smiles, all the way from acquisitions and transition services to day-to-day operations. With practices across England and Wales, the group is led by an experienced management team who prioritise collaboration, with the aim of creating a purpose-driven culture, happy dental teams, and, crucially, happy patients. With its central team being named the Specialist Healthcare M&A Experts of the Year 2026 – UK in this feature, we caught up with Steve Williams, CCO of Todays Dental, for more on the UK’s people-focused dental group. W
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