Trial Form Support

Trial Form Support is a contract research organization based in Sweden that conducts outsourced clinical trials for the pharmaceutical industry throughout Europe. Trial Form Support is privately held and has since its inception in 1996 developed into a company with 400 employees and turnover in excess of SEK 250 million.

In 2005, Trial Form Support acquired one of its competitors in order to strengthen its international presence, and the acquisition was financed through a subordinated loan. After the transaction, the balance sheet appeared weak with a low equity ratio. Proventus as a lender based our investment decision on the strong earnings of Trial Form Support and the value of their leading position in the European market.

Proventus has in the past few years moved to meet what we believe to be an important, unfilled need among mid-sized European companies that are in expansion or restructuring, but are unable to acquire bank financing and unwilling to dilute current ownership to fund such initiatives. In August 2009, Proventus laid the ground for Proventus Capital Partners, a co-investment vehicle through which Proventus invests its own and external funds in public corporate bonds, leveraged loans and private corporate loans to mid-sized companies in need for growth and restructuring capital. We see this as a major investment opportunity, targeting capital needs that cannot currently be financed because of restrictive loan policies of banks and others. We think there is a significant need for a more active market of this kind and aim to take part in developing it.