INVESTMENT BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO UK HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT PRODUCER

Business sale and acquisition specialist Watersheds, based at Swindon, has secured the multi-million pound sale of Therapy Equipment Ltd, a leading UK niche hospital equipment producer, to London-based business growth specialists Owner Venture Managers.

The sale will allow Therapy Equipment, which is already the NHS’s largest supplier of “suction and oxygen therapy” equipment, to grow internationally under its new owner, while maintaining production from the company’s longstanding base in Hertfordshire.

Tasty result for High Wycombe company

A High Wycombe company that designs and manufactures food and drink flavours reported record numbers of new customers last year, a trend it expects to continue through 2019, with underlying revenue growth of 11 per cent.

Synergy Flavours develops flavours, extracts and essences for the global food and beverage industry. In 2018, the company reported a turnover of more than £21 million.

Synergy has purpose-built research and development laboratories in High Wycombe. Earlier this year, the company announced it had expanded its manufacturing hub in Thailand.

Tech company acquires logistics specialist Proverbium BioCity helps Thames Valley innovators

Invenio Business Solutions, the Readingbased global provider of business technology and consulting services, has bought Proverbium, a Bangalore-based logistics consultancy.

This acquisition follows an £11.6 million investment in Invenio earlier this year from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), to support the company’s growth.

Tetra Pak is first carton company to launch paper straws in Europe

Tetra Pak, which has a processing centre at High Wycombe, has announced that customers have started field testing its paper straws for drinks products in Europe. The move means Tetra Pak is the first carton packaging company to provide such straws for beverage cartons in the region.

The company also announced its intention to publish and share its innovations on paper straw developments to support industrial collaboration on the alternatives to single use plastic straws

Made from FSC™ certified paper and recyclable with the rest of the package, the new paper straw will be available initially for two small size carton packages commonly used for dairy and beverage products for children.

More than 25 innovators took part in Oxford Academic Health Science Network Accelerator sessions in Reading. Over three days the Market Discovery Pre-accelerator, run with BioCity, explored the commercial viability of some of their ideas.

BioCity, which aims to connect promising business ventures with investors and mentors, launched the new programme in Berkshire and South Oxfordshire.

It wants galvanise growth in Thames Valley’s world-class health and life sciences cluster, supporting start-ups, spin-outs and growth companies.

This is a first for BioCity, which has until now operated outside the “golden triangle” – the unofficial grouping of research universities in Cambridge, Oxford, Milton Keynes and London.