HealthTech companies will continue to attract strong interest from investors because of their ability to scale.听听
That鈥檚 the view of James Kennedy, partner of Cowgills, who spoke on 老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 panel discussion at pro-manchester鈥檚 recent HeathTech conference.听
Kennedy cited the example of Lancashire-based digital healthcare services partner Redmoor Health, which received 鈥榮ignificant investment鈥� from Palatine in October 2022.听
He spoke on a panel entitled听鈥�How data is driving innovation in medicine and healthcare鈥� and said COVID-19 had shone a light on healthcare businesses.听
鈥淭here has always been a strong interest in healthcare companies which has become more prevalent post COVID-19,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n terms of M&A activity, COVID-19 divided the fortunes of certain sectors.听听
鈥淭hose which could demonstrate a greater level of trading resilience to the challenges posed have prospered with enhanced valuations arising from more concentrated capital deployment from investors.听听
鈥淭echnology and healthcare sectors have always been sought after but where you have a company which effectively combines the two, that鈥檚 where you achieve best value.鈥澨�
Kennedy said Chorley-based Redmoor Health was only set up by Marc Schmid in 2017 but generated a huge amount of investor interest.听
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a relatively new company but they were tracked by at least 13 private equity houses,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 been keeping an eye on them and spotted a fantastic company with the opportunity to scale significantly.听
鈥淐heshire-based digital health technologies specialist, ORCHA, is another example of a HealthTech business that has attracted a lot of investor interest.听
鈥淭hey are two companies that will be tracked very closely because of the market and their potential ability to scale. An ability to capture and make effective use of data can underpin a successful investment.
鈥淯ltimately, it鈥檚 all about the end market. How quickly can the business scale? Technology will always be at the forefront of most successful businesses.听
鈥淭he end market is the biggest factor, second is technology and third is having the right people to drive that business forward. An expression that has stuck with me is that private equity prefer to back the jockey, not the horse.鈥�
Kennedy was joined on the panel by Emma-Louise Fusari, of听 In-House Health; Keith Errey, of ; and Rory Cameron, of .听