Drug discovery business to expand services with PE investment
Charnwood Molecular, the Nottingham and Loughborough-based provider of outsourced drug discovery services, has received a significant investment from private equity firm Synova Capital.
The Loughborough University spin-out supports an international client base of pharmaceutical and biotech companies in developing drugs across the UK, US and Europe.
It will use the undisclosed sum to expand its core offering.
The independent global investment banking and asset management firm Alantra, which has helped to complete numerous transactions in the pharmaceutical sector, advised Synova Capital on the deal.
Steve Allin, founder and CEO of Charnwood, said: “We are extremely excited about what we can achieve in partnership with Synova. Synova supported the business over an extended period prior to their investment, helping us to develop a strategic plan that we are all committed to delivering. They were able to leverage their sector expertise and introduced the business to a number of leading industry figures who will help us to grow going forwards.
“With Synova’s support we now have the resources to accelerate growth of our core service offering and to develop further specialist services to support our clients to develop innovative new treatments.”
Tom Cowap, director at Alantra, led the deal supported by partner Justin Crowther, associate Yeboah Mensah-Dika and analyst Harry Sparks.
He said: “Charnwood operates in a fast-growing market and there is strong demand from investors in this sector. We are delighted to have advised on this deal. It provides a fantastic opportunity for Charnwood to deliver on its growth plans, including expanding its service offering to ensure clients can continue developing cutting-edge pharmaceuticals.”
