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BGF invests £2m in Abbey Pharma

  • Kenny Wastell
  • Kenny Wastell
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Business Growth Fund (BGF) has invested £2m in Abbey Pharma, a UK-based provider of pharmaceutical products, to facilitate the acquisition of Peckforton Pharmaceuticals.

The acquisition of Peckforton represents a full exit for YFM Equity Partners and Enterprise Ventures.

BGF stated it was attracted to Abbey Pharma by the company's track record of consistent year-on-year growth. The company intends to further expand through additional acquisitions.

The Abbey Pharma group will double in size following the acquisition of Peckforton, creating a company with revenues of around £8m.

Brian McEwan, formerly the managing director of Amdipharm Mercury Company and COO of Waymade Healthcare, has been appointed chairman of the group.

Debt
NatWest provided a senior debt package to finance Abbey's acquisition of Peckforton.

Previous Funding
Enterprise initially invested £250,000 in Peckforton in June 2004, before taking part in a £1.2m round alongside YFM in December 2007. The backers further invested in the company in March 2012, providing more than £1m of capital.

Enterprise's investment in the company was drawn from the RisingStars Fund and Coalfields Enterprise Fund. YFM invested through the North West Business Investment Scheme, a private equity and venture capital regional development scheme targeted towards small businesses in the north-west region.

Company
Founded in 2009 and based in Maidenhead, Abbey produces and sells over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription pharmaceutical products to the NHS and pharmacy wholesale markets. The company focuses on products for ophthalmology, oncology, pain, dermatology and gastrointestinal therapy.

Crewe-based Peckforton was founded in 1998. The company provides speciality OTC and prescription injectable pharmaceuticals focusing on the branded and hospital markets. Since Enterprise's initial investment in 2004, Peckforton's revenues have trebled.

People
Kevin James is CEO of Abbey and Shafiq Choudhary is the company's COO. James Austin, an investment director at BGF, led the deal alongside Greg Norman.

Advisers
Equity – Osborne Clarke, Robert Wood, Katherine Cunningham (Legal); Grant Thornton, Mo Merali, Vishal Jain (Financial due diligence).
Vendor – Clearwater Corporate Finance (Corporate finance).
Debt – Thomas Eggar, Sarah Naylor, Ian Sharrock (Legal).

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