AIM listing for Finance Yorkshire backed diagnostics company

Finance Yorkshire’s successful track record for investing in early stage businesses has continued with the AIM listing of investee company Concepta Diagnostics.

York-based Concepta specialises in the area of fertility and has developed market-ready digital fertility and pregnancy test products.

The company’s admission to AIM was by way of a reverse takeover of Frontier Resources International, which has been renamed Concepta plc.

Prior to the company being listed on AIM, Concepta received investment totalling £2.3 million from Finance Yorkshire’s Seedcorn Fund alongside Diagnostic Capital and the Angel CoFund.

Mercia Technologies invested £400,000 in Concepta earlier this year.

Frontier intends to raise £3.5m in new funds to support the continued growth of the business with Mercia investing a further £1m.

Finance Yorkshire Chief Executive Alex McWhirter said: “Finance Yorkshire was instrumental in the early stages of founding Concepta providing valuable investment, support and guidance. It is very pleasing to have been involved in the shaping of this innovative technology company and to see it grow to the global potential it enjoys today.”

Other Finance Yorkshire backed companies which have achieved AIM listings include Optibiotix Health, York, and Rotherham-based Xeros. Both received Seedcorn Fund investment from Finance Yorkshire.

Concepta was founded by a group of experienced scientists who previously worked for Unipath in the fields of fertility and women’s health.

Mark Payton, Chief Executive Officer of Mercia Technologies PLC, said: “Concepta Diagnostics is Mercia’s third direct investment emanating from Yorkshire, two of which have been from the Finance Yorkshire Seedcorn portfolio. This is testament to the quality of regional tech opportunities in the region which we have been very impressed with.

“The progress made by the management team at Concepta is significant and we are delighted that it has been admitted to AIM as we look forward to helping the company grow further over the months and years to come.”

Concepta’s product range has achieved registration in one of its largest target markets, China, where the abolition of the country’s one-child policy is expected to drive significant demand for a cost-effective, at-home fertility monitoring system as parents seek to have additional children.

Since its inception, Finance Yorkshire has invested in more than 460 companies, enabling those businesses to increase their turnover by a collective £377 million and attract a further £273 million from private sector sources. Finance Yorkshire investment has helped those SMEs to create and safeguard more than 12,000 jobs in the region.

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, UK Government and the European Investment Bank. Finance Yorkshire is also supported by the Regional Growth Fund.

For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or call 0300 030 6060.

Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire