Duo buy Fluidic Analytics instrumentation arm and launch new growth model

The duo came together to buy the instrumentation business developed by Fluidic Analytics which is in administration.

Gilligan has business interests in Vietnam, and from Cambridge and Asia the duo will continue to develop the commercial opportunities endemic in the acquired instrumentation. They have founded a new company called Fluidic Sciences for that purpose.

Newble, who is leaving SPT Labtech after 10 years to pursue the new venture from Royston as well as other opportunities, said: “Mark has a successful business in Vietnam which gives us the engineering capability to further develop the Fluidic Analytics instrumentation which is already excellent quality.

“Fluidic’s administration was an unfortunate turn of events but the core technology is excellent and we believe we can add to its capabilities. There are 30 or 40 customers out there internationally who seem to find the instrumentation useful so we can build on a sound base.”

Newble says he and Gilligan, who founded and is CEO of S & T company Blacksheep Power in Royston, have identified a market for growing young companies with promising core technology into global players by focusing on the value of the proposition before they have ‘built bricks and mortar’ and perhaps moved too far too fast.

He says: “There are signs the funding climate is starting to ease but it has been tough for a lot of techbio companies to raise growth capital in recent times. Some that have perhaps not progressed as quickly as envisaged may have overstretched.

“Eventually I suspect we may launch a new fund but for now we have identified a highly efficient and interesting model to grow young businesses who may not be certain of which way to go to optimise their proposition.

“We can pinpoint the value in a business and prevent entrepreneurs from over capitalising their company, acquiring more space than they need at a particular stage and either hiring too many people or the wrong type of skills for immediate requirements.”