Funding story

ThinCats has provided a £6m funding package to support private equity investor Chiltern Capital with the acquisition of Centaur Healthcare Limited (Surepharm), a leading contract development manufacturing organisation predominantly servicing the pharmaceutical market.

Surepharm provides outsourced formulation and development, manufacturing and packaging of products for its customers in the UK and overseas. The business has grown since its founding in 1990 and is licensed by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Operating from a facility in Burton-on-Trent, the company specialises in producing solid dose tablets and capsules, including niche medicines, controlled drugs and veterinary products.

Chiltern’s investment will support Surepharm to enhance its formulation and development offering, as well as providing funding for capex investment into new dosage forms. Together with investment in the sales and marketing function, this will enable Surepharm to provide both existing and new customers with an end-to-end service, from drug development through to a packaged commercial product across a broad range of product types.

Surepharm has been a trusted supplier of pharmaceutical products and services to its customers for many years. With the support of Chiltern, we will be able to expand both the capacity and capabilities of the company to enhance our offering and to drive faster growth. It’s a very exciting time to be joining the company

Richard Yarwood, Chair of Surepharm

Joe Bennett, Investment Manager at Chiltern Capital: “Through our direct origination team, we had been targeting a platform investment in the pharmaceutical sector and Surepharm gives us a strong market entry point. Working with the founders, we have built an ambitious management team of sector experts, and are looking forward to delivering the plan through a combination of organic investment and complementary M&A. We thank Stuart and the team at ThinCats for their support in delivering the funding package.”

Stuart Thompson, Director (ThinCats), “We are keen to support ambitious businesses like Surepharm. The knowledge and experience within the management team together with the support of Chiltern who have a strong sector pedigree and an excellent track record, I am sure will see Surepharm continue to lead the sector in terms of service delivery and innovation.”