Irish-backed breast implant maker taps shareholders for $5m as pandemic bites

A Dublin-headquartered breast implant maker backed by Barry’s Tea has raised $5 million (€4.4 million) from its shareholders.

GC Aesthetics, which is headquartered at a small office in Sandyford but manufactures abroad, raised the cash in December after a separate cash call for a similar amount in July. The company’s backers also include Irish tech investor Bill McCabe, who also sits on its board.

Filings by GC Aesthetics’s Irish holding company show it raised the cash in recent weeks from shareholders including the Barry’s Tea company; Tony Barry of the family behind the Cork tea dynasty; an Isle of Man company linked to Mr McCabe’s Oyster investment group; and US private equity firm Montreux, which is the largest shareholder.

Global restrictions

The company has repeatedly tapped its shareholders for support during the pandemic, as global restrictions on movement and limits on non-emergency medical care have hampered its operations. It raised a separate $5 million from shareholders in 2020, according to its accounts, and also tapped a French government-backed Covid loan scheme.

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Its accounts for 2020 show a deficit on its balance sheet of $277 million (€244 million). It made a loss for the year of $33 million (€29 million), while it took a $14 million (€12.3 million) hit to its revenues from the pandemic, reducing them to less than $32.8 million (€28.8 million).

Mr McCabe has sat on the company’s board for more than 13 years.

GC Aesthetics has another Irish link in the form of its chief financial officer, David FitzGerald, who is a former executive at Glanbia and previously was managing director of the Irish operation of soft drinks company Britvic.