Former CEO and chairman return in coup
The former chief executive and chairman of Aptamer Group have staged a coup at the biotech business, forcing the board to resign and taking down the “for sale” sign.
Dr Arron Tolley and Steve Hull have retaken control of the York-based group, ending months of boardroom uncertainty.
The move has been backed by a cut-price £3.6m fundraise at a discount of nearly 80% from Friday’s closing share price. The 1p-per-share placing swamps existing shareholders, whose losses since the group’s IPO in December 2019 increase from 95% to 99%.
Aptamer’s co-founder Dr Arron Tolley left as chief executive just 12 weeks ago, days after a profit warning in the middle of a fundraising period. He rejoins the group as chief technical officer, with a new chief executive set to be appointed “when appropriate to do so”.
Former chairman Steve Hull who led the board until its launch on the Alternative Investment Market 19 months ago returns as executive chairman.
The fundraising and appointments of Tolley and Hull must be approved by shareholders at a general meeting in three weeks’ time.
Executive chairman Dr Ian Gilham, interim chief executive and chief financial officer Dr Rob Quinn, and non-executive directors Dr John Richards and Angela Hildreth have resigned.
The returning management team has set its sights on reaching an EBITDA and cash break-even position “within two years”. It is targeting revenues of £3.0m in this financial year, rising to £6.0m in the year to June 2026.
“These figures are significantly lower than previous targets and reflect a change of emphasis in setting expectations. These revised targets are mainly based on expectations of fee-for-service revenues for contract research with minimal expectation for licensing revenues,” the group said in a statement.
“Since IPO, Aptamer has found that whilst there is significant appetite for its technology, reaching and securing licensing agreements is taking much longer than anticipated and can be impacted by factors outside the Group’s control.
“Hence, the group is re-focusing its efforts to ensure that it is sustainable on a lower level of fee-for-service work, whilst retaining the potential upside from these longer-term opportunities.”
It is planning to slash annual costs, from £6.4m last year to £3.5m. The directors’ pay will also be reduced by nearly half, albeit aligned with a significant share option bonus scheme.
Aptamer was founded in 2008 by Tolley and Dr David Bunka, who will stay on the group’s board and move from CTO to chief scientific officer.
The biotech business has developed optimer binders, which support discovery and development by researchers across the life sciences sector.
