Penn Pharmaceuticals

Penn Pharmaceuticals, the Tredegar-based company, which has developed an international business servicing the pharmaceutical industry, is being taken over by its management team from shareholders in a £12m buy-out.

Gresham Trust, the private equity house, is backing the deal with a £5.8m investment. Simon Inchley of Gresham Trust's Birmingham office which arranged the deal, says "Penn is now providing a range of services to over 250 clients worldwide. Craig Rennie, the chief executive, has built up a strong management team and we are confident that with substantial investment behind it the business will grow at an impressive rate in the future."

Penn was founded in 1979 and has grown to its current year turnover of over £8.5m employing 140 people in South Wales. Penn's strength is in the provision of a fully integrated pharmaceutical service providing a complete development service from concept and formulation, through clinical trial packaging and distribution into early stage commercial manufacture

The business is now divided into three operating divisions each with its own director. They cover pharmaceutical and analytical development, clinical studies, and low volume manufacturing. More than half Penn's business is now with companies based outside the UK.

Craig Rennie, aged 51, joined the business in a consultancy role two years ago and became managing director last year. Craig Rennie has had more than 25 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry, mostly with Beechams and Wellcome.

Other senior members of the management team, include: Bryn Williams, commercial director, aged 46, who joined the company recently and has helped draw up the new business plan; Professor Glyn Tonge, aged 53, non-executive director, who worked in research with ICI/Zeneca, and has also been a senior merchant banker; and Dr Chris Higgins who recently joined from Covance as business development director.

Craig Rennie says, "The buy-out and Gresham Trust's backing, give us a fine opportunity to develop the business across the international market. We have now assembled a team with both strong pharmaceutical and commercial expertise. I believe our sales can double over the next three years."

The principal advisers to the deal were KPMG Birmingham and Addleshaw Booth & Co in Manchester. Legal advisers to Gresham were Wragge & Co, financial and techno-commerical due diligence were completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers Cardiff and Technomark respectively. Royal Bank of Scotland's legal advisers were Browne Jacobson.