Panthera Biopartners (“Panthera”), the UK’s largest Site Management Organisation (SMO) for commercial clinical trials, has secured investment from leading private equity investor LDC to support its expansion plans and further enhance its clinical capabilities.

Established in 2019 by co-founders Dr Ian Smith and Professor John Lyon, Panthera specialises in the recruitment of patients and running of Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. Its service offering spans trial planning, data collection and patient retention. Headquartered in Preston, Lancashire, the company operates six UK sites with two more planned and provides clinical trials for eight of the 12 largest pharmaceutical companies and all of the largest seven clinical research organisations (CROs).

Panthera has an outstanding market reputation due to its ability to recruit patients at speed and provide sponsors with certainty around study delivery, streamlining the route to commercialisation. Access to a large number of Principal Investigators (PIs) across the site network enables the business to service studies across a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas including vaccines, cardiovascular medicine, diabetes, neurology, respiratory medicine, dermatology, rheumatology and early dementia trials. In 2024, Panthera was the top global recruiter in four international clinical studies and had the first patient recruited in nine trials globally or within the UK.

The transaction marks a successful exit for BGF and Gresham House Ventures. Since their investment in 2022, the business has achieved rapid growth, with revenue increasing by more than 200%. As part of the new structure, BGF will reinvest and continue to support the business as a minority shareholder alongside LDC.

LDC is backing the existing management team, led by CEO Stuart Young, CCO Chris Dodd, CFO Rory Lloyd, CMO Dr. Mahadev Ramjee and CIO Andy Broomhead. Dr Ian Smith will continue to advise the company. With LDC’s support, Panthera will seek to further expand its operations in the UK and Europe, increase its number of clinical sites, invest in technology, and scale its trial delivery capabilities. As SMOs continue to play an increasingly pivotal role in the drug development value chain, an exciting opportunity for growth exists.

The investment was led by LDC’s North West team, including Partner and Head of North West Dale Alderson, Investment Director Grant Goodwin and Investment Manager Alex Kirkby. Following the transaction, Dale and Grant will join Panthera’s board as Non-Executive Directors, alongside Mark Egerton as Chairman.

Stuart Young, CEO, Panthera, commented: “We’re incredibly proud of what the team at Panthera has achieved and are excited to partner with LDC for this next phase of growth. Their investment will help us accelerate expansion, enhance our capabilities, and continue delivering for our clients and patients. With LDC’s support and experience, we look forward to broadening our reach into Europe and expanding access to clinical trials across new regions.”

Grant Goodwin, Investment Director at LDC, added: “Patient recruitment and dropout rates have historically been one of the biggest hurdles to efficient clinical trial processes and it’s this challenge that Panthera has proven it can solve. Stuart and his excellent team have built a trusted operation with well-established client relationships. We’re looking forward to supporting them as they pursue their growth strategy.”

Jill Williams, Partner at BGF, commented: “We’re proud to have supported the Panthera team through an exceptional period of growth. The business has built a strong reputation in the clinical trials sector and is well positioned for continued expansion. We’re excited to reinvest and remain part of Panthera’s next phase alongside LDC.”

Maya Ward – Investment Director, Gresham House Ventures commented: “Gresham House Ventures was Panthera’s first institutional investor and we have supported the company over several funding rounds. It has been a real pleasure to see Stuart and the team develop and scale the business to become one of the leading SMO providers in the UK. This new investment from LDC will support further global expansion and delivers a strong outcome for our investors in the Baronsmead VCTs.”

In the last decade alone, LDC has invested more than £409m into 18 healthcare companies with a combined enterprise value of £920m. Its experience of helping management teams in the sector to grow their business extends right across the UK and includes Synexus (another clinical trial SMO), which it helped diversify and expand to the US and Europe, diagnostic imaging equipment provider Medray Group and Bullen Healthcare, the UK’s largest independent dispensing appliance contractor of stoma, urology and wound care products. In June 2025, LDC was named Private Equity Investor of the Year at the annual HealthInvestor Awards in recognition of its support for the sector.

Senior debt facilities were provided by TDC.

Panthera Biopartners was advised by EY Parthenon (Corporate Finance and Vendor Commercial Due Diligence), PwC (Financial and Tax Due Diligence) and DLA Piper (Legal).

LDC was advised by Rothschild & Co (Corporate Finance and Debt Advisory), Mansfield Advisors (Commercial), DWF (Legal) and KPMG (Tax and Structuring).

ENDS

About LDC: www.ldc.co.uk/pressrelease 

1. LDC is a private equity investor and part of Lloyds Banking Group. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
2. We have invested £3.9bn to back 179 management teams over the last decade. Today, we have a portfolio of more than 90 businesses across the UK.
3. We have made investments across all major sectors of the UK economy and are actively supporting businesses in industries including Business Services, Consumer, Healthcare, ICT, Industrials, Media and Technology.
4. LDC-backed businesses have grown 3.3x more than the average medium-sized business over the last decade.

About Panthera

Panthera is the UK’s largest Site Management Organisation (SMO) that recruits patients and runs clinical trials at six dedicated clinical trial clinics across the UK on behalf of its clients - CROs and pharma. The SMO model was originated by Dr Ian Smith MBE – one of the founders of Panthera Biopartners. Since launching in 2019, Panthera has continued to refine the SMO model and has quickly grown to be number one in the UK recruiting patients and running trials on behalf of ten of the top twelve pharmaceutical companies and seven of the top CROs.

For more information visit Home Page - Panthera Clinical Trials

About BGF

BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested over £4.5bn in more than 600 companies, making it one of the most active growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland. BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 15 offices. BGF is a certified UK B Corporation (B Corp), reflecting its commitment to creating a positive impact across the growth economy.

 www.bgf.co.uk / @BGFinvestments

About Gresham House Ventures and Gresham House

Gresham House Ventures is an experienced investor, providing flexible growth and secondary capital. Gresham House Ventures partners with exceptional management teams in fast growing, innovative business across a diversified range of sectors, including enterprise solutions, healthcare & education and consumer markets. The team has been working together for over 10 years and has made over 100 investments into growth businesses. https://www.greshamhouseventures.com

Gresham House Ventures is part of Gresham House, a specialist alternative asset management group that is focused on delivering financial returns for clients by investing in the global themes shaping our future. Gresham House invests across a range of strategies, with expertise in private and public equity, forestry and natural capital, sustainable infrastructure, real estate, renewable energy and battery energy storage. Gresham House is committed to operating responsibly and sustainably, taking the long view in delivering sustainable investment solutions.