SourceBio International raises £35m in IPO

The IPO will increase the life sciences company’s Covid-19 testing capacity and fund future acquisitions

Life sciences company SourceBio International has raised £35m as it prepares to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

The Nottingham-headquartered business will become a public company on Thursday, four years after it was taken private in a £63m deal by shareholders Harwood Capital and Continental Investment Partners.

The IPO, which values the company at £120m, will help to support a significant increase in its Covid-19 testing capacity and fund future acquisitions.

The company said the 162p-per-share placing was “significantly over-subscribed” with institutional and other investors.

SourceBio’s executive chairman Jay LeCoque, who joined as part of the turnaround plan put in place after the company went private in 2016, said he was “delighted by the strong support” from institutional investors.

He said: Our IPO on AIM allows us to significantly increase our Covid-19 testing capacity, accelerate earnings growth in our core business and execute on potential M&A opportunities. It’s an exciting time for our business and we look forward to executing on our ambitious growth plans and delivering value to our shareholders.

Source BioScience employs 235 people across six sites in the UK, Ireland and the USA, with its main laboratories at Nottingham Business Park.

As well as Covid testing, it carries out biopsy testing for the NHS and genomics and DNA testing and provides storage for biotech companies.

These business units – healthcare diagnostics, genomics and stability storage – have recently been complemented by a fourth, infectious disease testing, which was established in May.

The three units saw good growth from 2017 to 2019, increasing revenues by 20% to nearly £20m, and doubling EBITDA to £2.8m. During the period it also exited “a number of unprofitable and non-core” business lines as the group refocused its activities.