French leads Sexual Health to market
Article Date: Jan 10 2005
Experienced entrepreneur, and chairman of no less than five AIM companies, John French has provided the first OFEX debutant of 2005 in the shape of Sexual Health Group (SHG).
As the name suggests, the company is a supplier of sexual health products, principally to the National Health Service and the UK armed forces. Raising a smidgen over £350,000 (£250,000 after expenses) in an open offer, it was valued at £4.6 million on arrival. The adviser to the float was St Helen’s Capital.
SHG is looking to capitalise on the Government’s recent White Paper to improve the sexual health of the UK on the back of statistics from The Public Health Agency that show an alarming rise in sexually-transmitted infections, particularly HIV.
Founder and chief executive George Sutherland has already had some success in this field as part of the team that launched Mates condoms. ‘STIs have increased considerably over the last few years,’ he informed Growth Business. ‘The recently published White Paper on Health clearly demonstrates that there is a desperate need in the market for a business such as SHG.’
Chairman French, who also chairs AIM-listed duo Air Music & Media Group and Avanti Screenmedia Group, believes the listing on OFEX ‘will provide a strong platform to develop and market high quality brands and products that will benefit health professionals and consumers alike in many areas of sexual health’.
10/1/05
