EU Business News Q2 2018

30 EU BUSINESS NEWS / Q2 2018 , Fastest-Growing Privately-Owned UK Pharmaceutical Businesses Revealed TheAlantraPharma Fast 50 Index reveals a flourishing sector inwhicha broad range of British businesses are delivering outstanding rates of growth. New research shows that Britain’s fastest-growing privately-owned pharmaceutical businesses are facing down tough headwinds to deliver stellar rates of growth. The top 10 businesses in the sector have all seen their sales grow by an average of at least 43% a year over the past two years according to the Alantra Pharma Fast 50, an annual ranking of non-listed UK pharmaceutical companies. The ranking, compiled by Alantra, the global investment banking and asset management firm which last year combined with UK-based Catalyst Corporate Finance, underlines the vibrancy of the UK’s pharmaceutical industry. A broad spread of businesses in the sector are combining innovation, customer service and commercial intelligence to deliver outstanding rates of growth. “The UK is rightly regarded as a world leader in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry and beneath the well-known names of big pharma, it is home to a thriving community of privately-owned businesses that consistently deliver long-term value,” said Tom Cowap, a Director in Alantra’s UK advisory business (formerly Catalyst Corporate Finance) who specialises in the Pharmaceutical sector. Cowap added: “Despite the fact that the industry is facing difficult challenges including the spectre of Brexit, tough pressure on margins, demanding regulatory scrutiny and issues such as the patent cliff, the companies in the Alantra Pharma Fast 50 have repeatedly managed to grow their sales at an impressive rate.” The Alantra Pharma Fast 50 ranks the UK’s fastest- growing, privately-owned pharmaceutical businesses according to revenue growth over the past two years. On this basis, Qualasept Pharmaxo is currently the fastest-growing privately-owned pharmaceuticals business in the UK, having grown its sales by an average of 69% over the past two years. This is the second successive year in which Qualasept, the UK’s largest private aseptic compounding provider, has topped the ranking. The Alantra Pharma Fast 50 includes analysis of businesses grouped into four distinct sub- sectors – pharma outsourcing; pharmacy chains; development, wholesale and supply (DWS); and consulting. This year’s leaders are: • Pharma outsourcing: Simbec-Orion, a boutique contract research organisation which has delivered sales growth averaging 49% a year over the past two years. • Pharmacy chains: Gorgemead, which trades as Cohens Chemist, where sales are up by 51% a year over the past two years. • DWS: Immunocore, a biopharma business, with sales up by 61% a year over the past two years. • Consulting: Random42, a specialist in medical animations, with sales up by 34% a year over the past two years. Alantra’s Tom Cowap added: “These businesses all have a laser focus on value creation in a constantly evolving marketplace: they are succeeding because they recognise the powerful drivers for change in healthcare.” Catalyst Corporate Finance rebranded as Alantra in April, with its partners now leading Alantra’s UK advisory business.