Tampa, FL – September 12, 2016 — Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners (SGEP) today announced an investment in Choice Legal, a Tampa-based company that has developed proprietary methods of retrieving and organizing complex medical records from thousands of sources around the country to support legal cases.
The transaction marks the eighth investment by Southeast-focused Stonehenge into Tampa Bay-based companies, and the 21st into Florida-based companies, highlighting the state’s fruitful environment for high-growth and technology-enabled companies.
“Insurance carriers are increasingly looking to outsource business processes, and that continues to create an exceptionally active market for services like those that Choice Legal provides,” said Travis Milks, Partner at SGEP. “Choice Legal is a leading innovator in the space, and a perfect match, as we look for companies with solid business models that leverage technology and proprietary methods to provide a differentiated product or service in the market.”
Additionally, Milks said Choice Legal is a firm with a large number of blue-chip customers, and operates in a market that is growing and insulated from economic cycles.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. However, the deal followed SGEP’s established criteria of investing between $1 million and $5 million into firms at or near profitability, particularly those in Florida, with more than $3 million in annual revenue.
Choice Legal is a home-grown Tampa company, and has expanded at a double-digit rate, while maintaining profitability.
Choice Legal saves clients time and money by leveraging technology to retrieve and organize a wide range of documents from scores of locations more efficiently and in a more cost-effective way than an insurer’s in-house staff or outside counsel could do themselves.
For instance, plaintiff and defense law firms involved in litigation over a vehicle accident often need to gather medical records about a person that may span many states and stretch back 10 years or more among a myriad of providers.
Choice Legal modernizes the process of collecting the patient’s identifying information, and prepares the proper subpoenas, then uses long-established connections with medical care providers around the country to collect records in the proper formats. Choice Legal then culls through the records to focus on the most pertinent documents, organizes and transmits those records in manageable format to legal representatives involved in a case.
Choice Legal has added dozens of employees recently, and now employs more than 80 people from a headquarters in Tampa. With this new investment, the company expects to add to the ranks, particularly among the senior leadership level.
“Stonehenge was an ideal partner for us, particularly because we have known the principals for many years,” said Alexa Jessee, an attorney who founded the firm with her husband Paul Jessee. “Stonehenge has a well-established track record of partnering with companies to successfully grow their businesses. We know and trust this team and see the value they can bring. This transaction will help Choice Legal grow even faster. We are extremely excited about the future.”
About Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners
Since 1999, the team at Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners (SGEP) has been investing in growth stage businesses. By developing trusted relationships with experienced entrepreneurs, SGEP supports its portfolio companies through the most dynamic phases of their lifecycles. Based in Tampa, FL, SGEP invests in companies where an entrepreneur is applying proven technology to solve a business problem. These technology-enabled businesses, located in the southeastern United States, typically generate at least $3M of revenue and are profitable. Our target investment size is $1M to $5M in each portfolio company. For more information, visit www.stonehengegrowthequity.com
About Choice Legal
Choice Legal is a leading nationwide medical record retrieval provider for insurance defense and plaintiff firms. Providing vital legal support services for 30 years to insurance companies and law firms, Choice Legal has the experience and customer service expertise to streamline the discovery process. For more information, visit www.choicelegal.com