Following on from my opening piece on AIM newcomer IIG last week, I have today been fortunate enough to catch up with Rob Naylor, CEO (from 19th Feb 2021), in order to hear more about the business and plans of the board.
As I write, the shares have moved northwards by 14% to 25.5p following news early this morning stating that IIG had concluded its second investment.
This comes in the form of a $1m stake through the issue of unsecured convertible loan notes to US based BioQ Pharma, a company operating in the drug delivery space which looks to be well placed as a disruptor in the field.
BioQ has developed and subsequently moved into commercializing its own patented platform that is focused on ready-to-use infusible pharmaceuticals.
Via its own bespoke infusion offering, it is focused on addressing some of the most pressing unmet needs across drug infusion. Benefits include sterility, ease of deployment and use, along with being highly cost and labour efficient.
Naylor sounds excited about the prospects of BioQ where he confirms that it is a commercial stage company that is already generating sales via its infusion platform. “Where they have made big in-roads is the area around pain relief and they have two products across this area. In particular, it is very good across the delivery of propofol where the dosages have to be exactly right. They have also really benefitted from the onset of Covid as there is a shortage of infusion pumps and also propofol, so they are seeing very good sales in relation to sedation and ventilation”.
Naylor also adds that the IIG team is really keen on BioQ where David Evans has known them for around ten years and they view it as a great investment, particularly as BioQ has big growth plans and it is now going from what Naylor describes as inflexion to penetration.
In terms of realising a future return on this one particular investment Naylor sees BioQ as either being trade sold or going down the IPO route, either of which would result in a positive outcome for IIG and its shareholders.
Returning to its first investment announced just last week, Naylor says that Light Science Technology is well on track for an IPO with a Nomad/Broker appointed and with it operating in a fast growing area, he believes it will receive a good reception on its market debut.
With two pieces of investment news out in the space of as many weeks investors here could be forgiven for thinking that there may now be something of a pause.
However, with a substantial pipeline of opportunities of up to 60 that have been identified, further news flow looks likely both in the near and medium term. “We have the money” says the CEO “so we don’t want to just sit on it, rather deploy and invest to generate returns for our investors”.
Naylor does quantify though that they are very thorough and diligent in their selection process and with David Evans extensive experience working in conjunction with other board members and the excellent advisory team, then the approach works extremely well.
“When we become involved we don’t just sit back as with the vast collective experience of the likes of David Evans and Julian Baines we can offer and provide advice and guidance to really assist a business”.
And anyone looking in at IIG for the first time should be under no illusion that the CEO here is extremely passionate and switched on to the sector/s being targeted, always a plus for those invested. “I have been absolutely bowled over by the really good technology companies out there that are doing such interesting and novel things that are really only constrained by a lack of capital” adds Naylor.
As a result of such enthusiasm and with seemingly plenty of opportunities on which to focus I attempt to narrow him down to some potentially mouth watering prospects to further whet investor’s appetites.
First up Naylor says that they have identified an excellent company that is focused on breast imaging and he is very positive on it. This one is using radio technology he says as opposed to radiography and is already generating sales but has actually not got an aggressive valuation.
Secondly, he refers to a company working on respiratory monitors that downloads to the cloud and is very much helping people with breathing difficulties where he comments that what they are doing is absolutely fantastic.
A third prospect mentioned is one focused on producing biological materials for implants that are tailored to a specific client’s own specification. This is another one he says that is already making sales and is a really high quality company.
Expanding, the CEO says, “a lot of people out there working in the science space are very passionate about what they’re doing and working on really amazing novel products, but aren’t actually paid that much, this particular company is another one of those. And all three of these mentioned are really great companies with great people doing interesting things, so we certainly have plenty to go for”.
IIG is targeting annual returns of 20% and believes that this can be achieved, although it must be conceivable that if one or two of its investments come to market and really attract attention in their own right, that could provide for even greater potential uplift.
Although for now it remains early days for IIG, it is already up and running and setting out its stall which should result in further investment news as the year progresses and remains one for me to keep close tabs on.