Medical device company goes public with £92m valuation
Medical device company, Abingdon Health has been admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
The York-based firm which has been leading the development of a Covid-19 rapid antibody test raised £22m by placing 22,916,666 ordinary shares.
These fund will be used to scale up its manufacturing capabilities in order to meet the demand for its Covid-19 rapid test (AbC-19) and enable it to further establish its global and commercial operational footprint.
It’s been quite the 12 months for the firm which recently secured approval for its Covid-19 test to be used in North America, having previously been approved for professional use in the UK and EU.
In January Abingdon announced plans to expand its presence at the York Biotech Campus in York after a successful 2019 that saw it secure £1.5m funding from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) – Mercia Equity Finance, who will hold 18.9% of the company’s voting rights on admission.
Today’s announcement gives the business which since April has been leading consortium of partners to develop and manufacture millions of Covid-19 antibody tests, a market cap of approximately £92m.
Chris Yates, CEO, Abingdon Health
Chris Yates, chief executive officer of Abingdon Health, said: “We are pleased to have achieved this important milestone and to be making our debut on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange today.
“I would personally like to thank our new and existing investors for their support, and our dedicated staff for their hard work and diligence. We are looking forward to this next exciting chapter in Abingdon Health’s development.”
Mark Wyatt, investment director for Mercia, said: “Abingdon Health is a good example of the sort of business that the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is looking to support, and it is great to see Abingdon Health showcasing the strong research and development and manufacturing capabilities available in the North of England.
“We are delighted that the future potential of the company is being supported by the wider investment community and we look forward to watching the company flourish during its next phase of growth.”
Ken Cooper, MD of the British Business Bank added: “With £500m of funding to back ambitious companies across the North, NPIF is committed to supporting companies like Abingdon Health on their growth journey. This is an excellent example of an NPIF investee business growing in value, while driving innovation and employment opportunities in the region. The Company’s AIM listing is a vote of confidence in its future growth plans and we wish Chris and the team every success in the future.”
