York-based firm behind Covid-19 test makes debut on AIM market of London Stock Exchange

The York-based firm, which is a lateral flow diagnostics company, has announced the admission of its entire issued share capital to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Abingdon Health’s market capitalisation at the placing price on admission will be approximately £92 million. N+1 Singer is acting as Sole Broker and Nominated Adviser in relation to Admission.

Chris Yates, chief executive Officer of Abingdon Health, commented: “We are pleased to have achieved this important milestone and to be making our debut on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange today.

"The money raised will, amongst other things, enable us to scale up our manufacturing in order to meet the demand for our AbC-19TM rapid lateral-flow test and allow us to further establish our global commercial and operational footprint.

"I would personally like to thank our new and existing investors for their support, and our dedicated staff for their hard work and diligence. We are looking forward to this next exciting chapter in Abingdon Health’s development.”

Mark Wyatt, Investment Director for Mercia, said: “It has been a pleasure working with the experienced team at Abingdon Health and seeing them delivering on a very focused and ambitious business proposition.

"Abingdon Health is a good example of the sort of business that the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is looking to support, and it is great to see Abingdon Health showcasing the strong research and development and manufacturing capabilities available in the North of England.

"We are delighted that the future potential of the company is being supported by the wider investment community and we look forward to watching the company flourish during its next phase of growth.”

Ken Cooper, MD of the British Business Bank said: “With £500m of funding to back ambitious companies across the North, NPIF is committed to supporting companies like Abingdon Health on their growth journey.

" This is an excellent example of an NPIF investee business growing in value, while driving innovation and employment opportunities in the region. The company’s AIM listing is a vote of confidence in its future growth plans and we wish Chris and the team every success in the future.”

Mercia will hold 18.9 per cent of the company’s voting rights on admission.

It was recently revealed that Abingdon is to distribute its rapid Covid-19 test in the US after receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The York-based firm will distribute its UK-RTC AbC19 rapid test to laboratories and healthcare workers, for point of care testing.

Distribution of the test will be through Ciga Healthcare, a member of the UK-RTC.

Leigh Thomas, SVP director of global sales at Abingdon Health, said: "Abingdon Health and our consortium partners in the UK-RTC remain committed to the wide deployment of the AbC19 Rapid Test and continue to work with regulators both in the UK and internationally."

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