Alderley Lighthouse Labs secures £1m investment to drive expansion

A Cheshire-based healthcare testing facility is set to expand after receiving £1.035m in new investment.

Alderley Lighthouse Labs Ltd (ALL) has received £800,000 funding from NPIF-Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), and a £235,000 investment from Newton-le-Willows-based venture capital investor, Seneca.

It follows Seneca’s £500,00 investment into Alderley Lighthouse Labs in October last year.

The funding will enable the business to invest in product development to expand its current product suite of services and scale its team to service the growing demand for its testing services and support acquisition of new customers.

With the technology infrastructure already in place, ALL now has the opportunity to access new markets to deliver testing for oncology and genome sequencing.

ALL is a laboratory-based testing facility, specialising in human diagnostics, with the aim of improving healthcare outcomes.

The company provides a comprehensive range of diagnostic testing services including blood tests, urine tests, and cellular tests, enabling people to improve and sustain their health.

ALL’s founders, Mark Wigglesworth and Simon Chapman, have more than 20 years of experience in healthcare, across pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies as well as the NHS. The pair previously played leading roles in developing and running the Government COVID-19 testing facility in Alderley Park, Cheshire during the pandemic.

ALL was founded immediately following the pandemic and developed into a laboratory-based testing facility, providing diagnostics using state of the art analytical testing methods.

With the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and increased government support towards early preventive diagnostics aimed at reducing long term healthcare costs, the UK In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) market is continuing to grow. The IVD market is now valued at more than £3bn, and the self-testing market within it is growing at more than 20% per annum.

Gavin Bell, investment director, led the deal for Maven alongside James Caplan and Josh Malyan.

Gavin Bell said; “With self-testing and outsourcing driving demand in lab diagnostics, ALL is addressing a genuine market need with its impressive lab facilities at Alderley Park. We’re delighted to support Mark and Simon as they embark on an ambitious programme of growth to scale its team and expand into new markets and looking forward to working with the team in Cheshire to help grow the business.”

Alderley Lighthouse Labs CEO, Mark Wigglesworth, said: “We are passionate about deploying the very best diagnostics and using them to support people across the UK. With this investment our laboratory in the North West can continue to grow, providing much-needed diagnostic information to patients and support good clinical outcomes.

“It is tremendously exciting to be partnering with experienced investors that share our vison and can help us to accelerate the delivery of diagnostics in a new way.”

Keira Shepperson, at British Business Bank, said: “The funding will allow ALL to invest in its product development, laying the groundwork for the business to shape the North as a leader in its industry. The investment will support Cheshire, and the wider region, developing it into a hub for research and development in the pharmaceuticals landscape.

“NPIF champions research and innovation, and ALL is a great example of how new approaches, with the right support and funding, can help shape the direction of an industry.”

Victoria Edwards, investment manager at Seneca, said: “In ALL we saw a unique opportunity to back an impressive team in establishing market-leading provision in a sector simultaneously undergoing change and attracting high levels of investment. Seneca’s follow on funding alongside Maven demonstrates the progress that Mark and Simon have made and supports this business to establish itself as a key player in diagnostic services.”

Advisors on the deal included Alex Clarkson at Bamburgh Capital (management), Rick Life at TLT (Maven Legal), Hill Dickinson (management legal), DTE, Confidas and Lockton.