The company
e18 Innovation was a specialist NHS automation and digital transformation consultancy founded by Louise Wall. The business built its reputation helping NHS organisations implement process automation, winning contracts across primary, secondary, and acute care. By the time Digital Workforce acquired them, e18 had become a focused, systemised, vendor-agnostic business with deep NHS relationships and a team that carried real institutional knowledge.
The challenge
In early 2023, e18 was profitable, busy, and winning NHS contracts. On the surface, everything was working. Underneath, something wasn't quite right. The business had positioned itself as a generalist digital transformation consultancy, but in reality, almost all of its meaningful work was NHS process automation. The website said one thing, and the client list said another. At the same time, e18 was heavily reliant on reseller licence revenue and a single supplier, a model that had helped it grow but created a real problem for its business value. Louise sought help from The Grafter because she knew there was more potential in the business than their model was unlocking at the time. She needed clarity and a better structure if she even wanted to think about selling the business.
Engagement with The Grafter
e18 came to The Grafter in 2023 as one of our first three clients. Starting with a full business diagnostic, the engagement ran through to the complete Grow Raise Exit programme in early 2025. Over that period, the work covered: Strategy rewrite: Overhauled the business strategy entirely, moving e18 from a generalist digital transformation strategist to a laser-focused NHS automation specialist Business model shift: Flipped the model from reseller to selling its own services, fundamentally changing how e18 created and captured value Vendor diversification: Built relationships with two additional automation providers to reduce dependency on a single supplier (Blue Prism), mitigating commercial risk and repositioning e18 as a vendor-agnostic partner New services built: Developed and launched new service lines to broaden the revenue base beyond licence reselling Delivery partners: Built out new delivery partnerships to strengthen capacity and reach Systemisation: Invested in systems and AI to capture institutional knowledge and standardise operations, building a business that could scale without depending on any single individual Exit readiness: Ensured contracts, CRM, finances, and data were clean, accessible, and due diligence-ready well before a buyer appeared
Exit outcome
By 2025, e18 was operating with a clarity and confidence it hadn't had two years earlier. Revenue was growing, profitability was up, and the business was delivering its strongest quarter ever. Digital Workforce, a long-standing partner, approached with acquisition interest. The deal was completed in October 2025 for €13.1M. The entire e18 team transitioned to DWF, bringing their NHS expertise, client relationships, and institutional knowledge into a larger platform with global automation and AI capabilities.
e18 Innovation wasn't looking for a buyer. They were just looking to build a better business. But two years of focused work meant that when Digital Workforce came knocking, Louise and her team were ready. If you want to be prepared for when the right exit opportunity arrives, reach out to us and let’s have a conversation.
The Grafter helped us grow, focus, and value what we had built. That foundation meant when the right opportunity came along, we were ready.
