Concept Life Sciences, a newly formed international scientific laboratory and consultancy business, has made three acquisitions with a combined enterprise value approaching $100 million.

The companies the group has acquired are Peakdale Molecular Limited, Resource & Environmental Consultants Limited and Scientific Analysis Laboratories Limited.

Concept Life Sciences is led by Executive Chairman Michael Fort and Chief Executive Officer Alan Morgan.

Michael Fort has significant experience in the life sciences field having most recently held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Synexus Clinical Research where he worked for over 11 years. Michael has been involved in more than five M&A deals with a track record of building substantial value in the SME sector.

Alan Morgan has held a number of senior leadership positions in large global contract research organisations - Covance, ICON and RPS - including managing large laboratory networks across the world. He has particular experience in leading complex teams across multiple countries in highly regulated environments, and has built and developed long term client partnerships encompassing multiple service offerings in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Concept Life Sciences is supported by Equistone Partners Europe. This is the 21st investment from Equistone’s £1.5bn Fund IV, which sees the mid-market private equity firm secure a majority stake in the newly formed business.   

The new group is currently focused on laboratory based analytical testing and complex chemistry synthesis and will be accelerating its investment in biological sciences, cell based ADME services, biostorage and stability testing.

Executive Chairman, Michael Fort commented: “Each of the companies we have acquired is a recognised leader in its field with an established client base. We are delighted to have successfully completed the acquisitions and believe, together, these companies will experience growth at an even greater pace and see genuine benefit from being part of Concept Life Sciences. The UK is a leader in life sciences and an excellent base from which to expand an international science group.”

Chief Executive Alan Morgan continued: “These transactions are the first steps in building a comprehensive platform of services for our clients requiring science based innovative solutions. Our objective is to expand our capacity across a broad range of services adjacent to our current capabilities in life, food, and environmental sciences. We have an outstanding management team and substantial financial support to expand through a mix of organic growth and targeted acquisitions. “

Equistone Partners Director, Steve O’Hare commented: “We’ve worked closely with the management team to develop the new group, whilst simultaneously making the foundation acquisitions, which have given entry into high growth markets. The company has established a strong presence nationally and created a platform to target international growth and expand its service offering to existing clients. We also look forward to developing the business further through the execution of its buy-and-build strategy.”

The group currently has over 500 staff in ten core locations, with advanced plans to expand into continental Europe and the USA.

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