Lloyds' equity arm buys stake in pharma comms company Fishawack

LDC, Lloyds Bank’s private equity arm, has bought a stake in pharmaceutical communications company Fishawack, valuing the Cheshire-based firm at £38m, according to The Telegraph.

Fishawack, founded in 2001, offers a range of medical communications services and has over 230 employees operating across the UK, US and Switzerland. It has contracts with 15 of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies including GlaxosmithKline, Sanofi and Novartis.

LDC, which has more than 90 businesses in its portfolio, has bought out existing equity backers Growth Capital Partners (GCP) and provided extra cash for Fishawack as part of the deal.

Investment director at LDC Simon Braham said he and his team would support Fishawack so that it could continue on its ‘buy and build’ growth strategy that aims to expand the business.

"The management team has already done six deals so our strategy is just carrying on supporting them, they have loads of targets," he said.

"We are hoping to do three to five more acquisitions over the next couple of years, which could be in the US, UK or continental Europe.

"With the medical affairs industry valued at £6bn per year – almost 50 per cent of which is outsourced – there is a clear opportunity to capitalise on."

The private equity house has taken a majority stake in Fishawack but the company’s management team still retain a material interest in the business.

Last year it invested more than £330m in 20 companies and plans to invest a further £1.2bn over the next three years.

Fishawack is its third investment this year following specialist pharmaceutical valve manufacturer ChargePoint and celebrity hair salon chain Rush earlier this month.

LDC invests in medium-sized businesses across all sectors but has selected a number of pharma and healthcare companies in the past including Synexus, one of the world’s largest clinical trials patient recruitment firms.

"We definitely see ourselves backing other healthcare and pharmaceutical companies this year," said Braham.