Venn Life Sciences, the clinical research organisation (CRO) based in Dublin, Ireland, has started trading on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM alternative investment market.
The AIM debut follows last month’s announcement that Venn was being acquired by investment vehicle Armscote Investment Company for £2.88 million.
With around £2.5 million in working capital being raised through a share placing by Zeus Capital, the near-term objective is for the CRO – now known as Venn Life Sciences Holdings Plc – to expand its existing coverage in Ireland, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland to other European countries through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.
This would involve “combining a number of small European CROs to build a mid-sized CRO focused on the European market, offering clients a full service, multi-centred capability in Phase II-IV trials and across a range of principal disease areas”, Venn said.
First step
“Moving to AIM is the first step in our strategy to build a mid-sized pan-European CRO,” commented Tony Richardson, Venn’s chief executive officer and proposed CEO of Venn Life Sciences Holdings.
“We expect to achieve this through organic growth but also by targeting the acquisition of smaller, profitable regional European CROs to complement our existing geographies.”
The reconstituted Venn Life Sciences is the holding company for four entities:
• Venn Life Sciences (Ireland) Limited, located in Dublin, which provides management services to the Venn Group and manages corporate activity.
• Venn Life Sciences B.V., located outside Amsterdam and including a branch office in Switzerland, which provides clinical trial services;
• Venn Synergie S.A.S., based in Paris, which provides both clinical trial and resourcing services.
Including employees and contractors, the business now has a team of around 40 people across four locations.
