Galway-based company Bio-Medical Research (BMR) has secured €7.5 million in financing as it looks to roll-out new products.
BMR, whose products include the Slendertone and Flex Belt muscle-toning belts, was established in 1969 and employs about 60 people.
The company, which is led by chairman Bernard Collins and chief executive Brian Sheehan, plans to to use the investment to broaden its range of products. The company has markets in Europe, Asia and North America.
“The finance package will enable us to bring the range of consumer products we are developing successfully to market in late 2020,” said Mr Collins.
The financing was provided by Beechbrook Capital and is the first investment under its new Irish SME fund.
The fund, which provides SMEs with loans, typically of between €2 million and €6 million, is supported by the State-backed Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and the Finnish private credit manager Certior, each of which has committed €16 million.
Recently filed accounts show BMR also entered into a €1.5 million three-year loan facility with Bank of Ireland in early May.
Turnover
The accounts, which were filed late last month, show the group recorded pretax profits of €1.07 million last year, up from €647,597 in 2017. Turnover fell to €39.5 million from €44.8 million due to the disposal of part of its stake in Atlantic Therapeutics, a company that spun out of BMR in 2013.
Atlantic raised €28 million in additional investment earlier this year ahead of a move into the US, just months after receiving FDA approval for its flagship Innovo technology platform.
The accounts show that BMR’s shareholding in Atlantic Therapeutics has been further reduced recently. The group, which had a 44 per cent stake in the start-up in early 2017, saw its shareholding fall to 19 per cent in December 2018, and to 14.1 per cent as of August.
Beechbrook announced a €35 million investment fund for small- and medium-sized Irish companies in early July. The group said at the time that with additional investments to the fund pledged, including a further €4 million each from ISIF and Certior, it expects to ultimately have a €100 million fund in place.
"This first investment in the fund underlines our excitement about opportunities in the Irish market. We have enjoyed getting to know the BMR team and look forward to working with them to develop the growth potential of this indigenous Irish success story," said David Merriman, co-head of Beechbrook Capital Ireland.
Beechbrook has also announced the appointment of Conor Molloy as the new chairman of its Irish operation. Mr Molloy is currently board and council member of the Irish Fund Directors Association and is a former director of the Promontory Financial Group.
