Xendo

Xendo was a leading independent consultancy and project management organisation in the fields of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and healthcare. Sovereign partnered with management to develop the business further through a strategy of organic and acquisitive growth.

Investment Background

Founded in 1990, Xendo provided regulatory affairs compliance, validation and pharmacovigilance consulting and outsourced services to life sciences companies throughout the life cycle of their products. Xendo focused on the complex regulatory compliance requirements of its customers, and offered combined compliance and efficiency solutions, including pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

The founding shareholders of Xendo, having not been involved in the day-to-day running of the business for several years, had decided to sell. In tandem, the management team wanted to continue to develop the business in this rapidly evolving market.

Sovereign was able to deliver a transaction which met the wishes of the shareholders and the aspirations of the management team, supporting Xendo in the next stage of its development via a strategy of organic and acquisitive growth.

Value Creation

Strategic acquisition of Sofus to bring complementary services and expand geographic reach
Enhanced the management team with the appointments of Graham Love, Chairman, Ben Cons, NED and Arjen Huijs, CFO

Xendo at Exit

In 2018, Sovereign was approached by its long-standing contacts at ProPharma Group, a US-headquartered medical information, pharmacovigilance and consulting business looking to expand in Europe through the acquisition of Xendo.

By exit, Xendo had already grown from three countries in Europe (the UK, Netherlands and Germany) and Japan to the broader Nordics through a takeover of Sweden-based regulatory affairs consultancy Sofus, which brought complementary services and geographic reach.

The new management team had bedded in well and, with Sovereign's support, significant investment was made in the company’s operational efficiency which included utilising 'Argus', the market-leading software in pharmacovigilance. Xendo's team of consultants had grown to to a team of over 240 consultants.

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In their own words

In just two years of investment and partnership with Sovereign, we have achieved significant growth both in our own region and beyond, and further strengthened our position as a trusted advisor in life sciences. We are well positioned to continue to develop the business going forward.

André van de Sande / CEO (2011-2019)