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BUSINESS REFERENCE : CC079 / RightBiz CC079-S E ENGLAND-£600,000 | | | | | | Medical Education and multimedia company specializing in the Pharmaceutical Research and Development sector Confidentially offered for sale Ref No: CC079 Location: S E England Asking price: £600,000 | | | BUSINESS LOCATION: | Undisclosed Relocatable UNITED KINGDOM | | BUSINESS SECTOR: | Services | | TRADE TYPE: | Other | | SALE: | Agent Sale | LEASEHOLD: | £600000 | | | | | | | | | | | BUSINESS DETAILS: | Business profile:
Formed in 2002, this business is firmly established as one of the leading medical education and multimedia companies servicing the pharmaceutical R & D market. The business can boast a Client list that includes the majority of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies with users of products and services around the globe.
|The organisation is currently run out of the UK, with plans well underway for extending coverage globally to increase presence on the east coast of the US, and Singapore, to service the rapidly developing Asian market
Recently identified as a ‘High Growth Potential Company’ by UK Trade and Investment the products and services offered by this business can be divided into three areas - open enrolment courses, private/in-house programmes and an extensive range of multimedia and e-learning products used to support and expand face to face activities.
The open enrolment courses typically involve one, two or three day face to face sessions including taught courses, practical sessions and clinical experience programmes in major teaching hospitals on key therapy areas such as oncology, autoimmunity, infection and cardiology/metabolic disease. Private/in-house programmes, which can often result from delegates attending an open enrolment course, are premium priced, high quality products - bespoke courses tailored to specifically meet the learning objectives of a particular Client, delivered in-house or in academic medical centres of excellence. All programmes are accredited by the Royal College of Physicians – and routinely call upon the most eminent authorities in their areas of expertise
There is an increasing need for pharmaceutical and health sector Clients to make full use of new media e-learning in their training and communication programmes.This business provides a wide range of e-learning and multi-media products to meet this need, including bespoke web based training needs analyses tools and on-line quizzes, ‘virtual lectures’ using audio and film in an interactive interface, in-licensing of modules to companies for use within their own Learning Management Systems, interactive elements such as online testing and certification of learners as well as full e-portal build and delivery, as required. The company is currently running a number of large educational e-portals in a variety of therapy areas for two of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies and maintains the databases tracking usage by company individuals across the globe.
This business has a proven track record in a competitive market place. With an excellent brand image, a speaker bank developed over a twenty year period as a result of relationships developed by core staff members with specialist senior medics, a very strong prestigious pharmaceutical Client base, extensive current databse of contacts and signficant IPR invested in the multi media/e-learning side of the business, this business represents an excellent acquisition opportunity.
With turnover of almost £350,000 generating profits for its Owners of approximately £54,000 this opportunity should be attractive to another clinical research organisation or any organisation looking to extend their education, training or communications interests into the pharmaceutical sector.
Key strengths:
Formed by a clinical researcher to meet the needs of clinical researchers, this business, a small, specialist and highly effective medical education and multi media provider has developed into a strong brand, which is well respected within its marketplace. UK based, this business is a global operator, not only in terms of its customer base, holding ‘Preferred Provider’ status for many of them, but also in terms of the courses and materials generated by this business which are used by virtually every company in the pharmacuetical sector, whatever their size, across all continents.
As a result this business can rightly claim to have specialist insight into this sector and related fields including the key departments in global pharmaceutical companies and their pipelines and drug development processes and requirements, worldwide.
This business works with some of the leading authorities in their areas of expertise. It has a speaker bank that can only be amassed as a result of many years of working in this sector. Its excellent relationships with these critical resources combined with a good core team of staff with a high level of competence and delivery facilitates the production of innovative and performance enhancing training and education ensuring consistent performance improvement in companies that rely on this for their future profits. The quality of its staff cannot be underestimated – this business has very strong capabilities in programme development, speaker selection and briefing, resource generation and the logistics involved in mounting complex conferencing activities. These capabilties extend to the development and delivery of multi media products which are carried out by in-house staff (programming, multimedia development etc) augmented by tried and tested sub contractors such as film crews etc. Not surprisingly this business benefits from very high levels of repeat business.
Having been established for several years, this business has extensive intellectual property rights to its library of multi media and e-learning products – a key company asset. All course programmes and multi media products have copyright retained by this business with all speaker contracts stipulating that this business retains the right to re-use.
Key opportunities:
This business was recently identified as a high growth potential company by UK Trade and Investment. There is certainly an outstanding opportunity to build on the existing services and customer base of this company. With a strong demand for its products and services combined with a capacity to increase turnover, a new owner contributing fresh ideas and investment in resources – particularly in relation to technical support and infrastructure, will have every advantage of building on an excellent platform.
The core areas of activity for this business are where the educational needs of the pharmaceutical industry require input from the clinical and academic branches of medicine. Currently targetted at clinical researchers, the range of products and services of this business could easily be extended geographically, in terms of content, delivery and its target audiences.
There is certainly scope to extend into other subject areas – Compliance and Regulatory, for example.
With the extensive capabilities this business has in terms of developing its courses and developing multi media products there is also the possibility of developing synchronous delivery of its courses via webcasting, webinars etc.
Extending beyond its current target audience of clinical researchers, this business is well placed to leverage its excellent reputation to develop products and services to educate health care providers - Doctors, Nurses and Pharmacists, for example and patients as well as the all important Financiers and Lawyers, both of which have a significant role to play in getting a drug to market.
And whilst this business can rightly claim a global uptake of its multimedia products, there is certainly scope to extend the penetration of its open enrolment and bespoke courses worldwide. Plans are already advanced in fact to take its open enrolment courses into the US and Far East during the latter half of this year which will have a significant impact on turnover and profitability. Discussions are also at an advanced stage with some of the foremost authorities involved in drug research and its monitoring with a view to developing partner propositions and joint ventures to deliver their courses to a global audience using the multimedia capabilities of this business.
Quality control:
To a large extent the quality of the products and services provided by this business is controlled by only working with very high profile medical specialists and leading authorities in specific areas of expertise. Quality control is further enhanced however by a system of feedback forms provided at the end of each course or event or on ‘sign off’ of a multimedia product in addition to soliciting informal feedback from Client interviews carried out with key clients annually.
Marketing and advertising:
As might be expected of an organization operating in this field this business has a very structured and systematic approach to new business development which includes a New Business Review document which is revised on a weekly basis.
As well as its Open Courses and In-house courses which represent significant showcases and therefore themselves act as marketing tools for this business, it uses a wide range of other marketing and advertising initiatives including highly targeted direct mail, e-mails and perhaps most importantly, networking via professional bodies and direct follow up. The business is also very active at Exhibitions and Conferences with the Owner speaking at selected international conferences, as well as advertising, advertorial and the publishing of articles in trade journals. The business has a very well designed corporate brochure and a very well designed and informative website that performs very well in all of the major search engines for all appropriate search topics.
By far the most effective form of marketing for this business however is Client recommendations and the high levels of repeat custom this business enjoys, testimony to the very high regard in which this business is held throughout its industry.
Employees:
The owner and founder is responsible for the day-today running of the business supported on the operational side by a Project Manager, a Logistics Manager, Event Manager and Course Co-ordinator.
The technical side of the business is headed up by the Principal Multimedia Developer supported by a Web Developer/Programmer augmented by sub contract technical resources as and when required.
Financial control is in the hands of a Finance Officer with part time finance and admin support.
Premises:
The business has recently re-located to very well suited fully serviced offices. Approximately 700 square feet in all, the business also has access to Meeting Rooms and Seminar rooms which enable it to run some of its Open Enrolment courses on site.
With only a 30 day notice period required, Rent is £3,000 per annum including Rates.
Financial information:
The business is offered for sale as a going concern. All financial discussions will take place directly between the vendor and all interested parties under the auspices of Turner Butler.
Turnover for the financial year ending March 2008 was approximately £350,000 generating a gross profit of approximately £240,000 and profits available to the Owner of the business of approximately £54,000.
The Asking Price of £600,000 is for the assets and goodwill including the very significant Intellectual Property Rights integral to the business.
Reason for sale:
The current Owner feels the time is right to pass the business on to new Owners to realise its full potential by building on the excellent foundations already laid.
Support and training:
The current Owner is happy to assist with the hand over and training required ensuring a smooth transfer of the business, to the extent of working in a Consultancy role within the new organization for a number of years subject to negotiation. | | | | | | FOR SALE | | | | | SELLER: | TURNER BUTLER | | CONTACT: | 01895 25 6000 | | REFERENCE: | CC079 / RightBiz | | ENQUIRIES: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
