Latus Group, the Hull-based occupational health provider, has acquired Cirrus Environmental Solutions Limited, an occupational hygiene specialist based in East Boldon, South Tyneside, for an undisclosed sum. The deal, announced on 1 May 2026, strengthens Latus’s national footprint and positions it as one of the UK’s leading occupational hygiene providers.
Acquisition details and Northern hub
The acquisition is the fifth for Latus Group since private equity firm NorthEdge made a significant growth investment in July 2024. Cirrus, incorporated in 2005 by co-founders Stuart Hovvels and Rachel Bowman, brings 12 employees to the group. Its office on Boldon Business Park will become Latus’s Northern hub, extending the group’s occupational hygiene and broader occupational health services to the northern regions and Scotland.
Hovvels and Bowman, who will remain in their current roles, said: “Joining the Latus Group is an exciting next step for our business and our people. As part of the Latus Group, we can offer our clients access to end-to-end workplace compliance solutions, backed by technology, with coverage throughout the UK. We look forward to remaining in our current roles and continuing to work with Cirrus’ staff and customers to offer market leading workplace environmental solutions.”
Cirrus’s expertise in occupational hygiene
Cirrus specialises in a range of occupational hygiene services critical to protecting workers from workplace hazards. Its technical capabilities include air quality and exposure monitoring, which measures concentrations of dust, fumes, gases and vapours to ensure they remain within legal limits; occupational noise surveys to assess hearing damage risks; local exhaust ventilation (LEV) testing to check that extraction systems are functioning properly; and whole body and hand arm vibration monitoring, which evaluates exposure to vibration from machinery and tools that can cause long-term injury.
The company also conducts environmental noise assessments and, historically, has provided asbestos management and monitoring of process emissions. It operates under an ISO9001 accredited quality control system and predominantly serves the manufacturing industry, though it holds contracts across the UK and has provided expertise overseas, including in Finland and Spain.
Such services are increasingly important as UK regulations become stricter and employers face rising sickness absence rates — 4.4 days per employee in 2024 — alongside an ageing workforce and growing awareness of employee well-being. Industry projections estimate the UK occupational health market could grow from approximately USD 2.2 billion in 2024 to USD 3.8 billion by 2032, while the occupational hygiene services segment is forecast to reach USD 5.5 billion by 2035. Yet only 45 per cent of UK workers currently have access to occupational health services, leaving significant room for expansion.
Latus Group’s expansion strategy
Latus Group was founded in 2017 by brothers Jack, Sam and Will Latus. Jack Latus, chief executive and a former professional rugby player for Hull KR and Harlequins, applies elite sports principles to workplace health. The group uses a buy-and-build strategy supported by NorthEdge’s investment, which is intended to accelerate organic growth, fund its Yodha digital health surveillance platform, and enable further acquisitions.
This is the group’s second occupational hygiene acquisition in 2026, following the purchase of South Yorkshire-based Euro Environmental Limited in February. Earlier deals include Peritus Health Management (July 2025), which added mobile health surveillance units; OH Services Limited (October 2024), which brought maritime and offshore medical expertise; and, in May 2023, ELAS Occupational Health and The Industrial Diagnostics Company from Citation Group.
Jack Latus said the Cirrus acquisition establishes Latus as a leading provider of workplace compliance solutions, underpinned by market-leading technologies focused on keeping employees fit and healthy. “Occupational hygiene remains a key strategic growth area for us,” he added. “As well as providing us with additional services and geographic coverage, the acquisition of Cirrus also sees us bring market-leading occupational hygiene talent into the Group – with a highly skilled team led by Rachel and Stuart. I look forward to working with them as we deliver on our collective mission of modernising workplace healthcare and improving employee health outcomes across the UK.”
With NorthEdge partner Phil Frame on the board and a leadership team including chief financial officer Alex Birkett and non-executive chair Graham Ewart, Latus positions itself as a challenger to traditional providers such as Bupa, Optima and Medigold. The Cirrus deal not only extends its geographical reach but deepens its technical expertise in occupational hygiene at a time when the sector is consolidating rapidly and demand for outsourced, tech-enabled workplace health services is rising.
