Core makes 2.4x on PDP Couriers trade sale

JosУЉ Rojo
09 February 2016

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Mid-market GP Core Capital has scored a 2.4x return on the exit of British clinical trial logistics specialist PDP Couriers to trade buyer Cryo International.

The trade sale sees Cryo International wholly acquire PDP. The buyer is a subsidiary of Air Liquide, a French industrial natural gas and electricity provider that invests in the growth space via its Air Liquide Ventures arm.

According to Core, PDP is the first asset to be divested from its second fund, which held a £85m first and last close in September 2015. The mid-market investor has been a shareholder in PDP since August 2007, when it invested £5m to support a former DHL executive as he acquired the business and became its CEO.

In 2013, Alasdair McLeish replaced the aforementioned executive as PDP's CEO amid a significant restructuring of the company. According to Core, the changes led to the business becoming profitable again.

Under its eight-year shareholding, Core has backed PDP's growth across the pharmaceutical logistics segment, a market that has reportedly grown on the back of mounting clinical trial budgets and geographical dispersion. According to the GP, the strategy has resulted in a fourfold increase in PDP's turnover from £4m in 2007 to £16m during the last financial year.

Company
Incorporated in 2007, PDP is a logistics company that specialises in transporting medical research and clinical trials material.

Headquartered in Feltham, Middlesex, the business operates 14 sites worldwide, with locations in Switzerland, Australia, the US, China, India, Japan, Korea and Malaysia, among others.

Employing a global staff of 120, the company posted £16m in turnover during the last financial year.

People
Core Capital – James Smallridge (investment partner).
PDP Couriers – Alasdair McLeish (CEO).
Cryo International – Cédric Picaud (managing director).
Air Liquide – Guy Salzgeber (executive board member).