Health tech firm looks to grow on back of investment

CARDIFF-based health tech startup Concentric, which has developed a digital platform that empowers patients to share decisions with clinicians for best outcomes, has secured a six-figure investment boost to support its growth plans.

Led by lead technology investor Ed Parkinson, a syndicate has invested £345,000, along with £72,500 from the Wales Angel Co-investment Fund from the Development Bank of Wales and £82,500 from other private investors.

The equity investment will accelerate the delivery of a recent six-figure contract and help fund the recruitment of three new roles.

Established by clinicians Dafydd Loughran and Edward St John, and chief technology officer Martyn Loughran, Concentric was launched at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Customers now also include Oxford University Hospitals, Chelsea and Westminster, Royal Cornwall, Swansea Bay and Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS trusts.

Concentric was one of 10 high-growth UK start-ups chosen by Google to take part in its immersion programme in 2020 and also secured £350,000 funding from Innovate UK. It has become the widest used digital consent application in the NHS, a product category that is currently being prioritised for funding by the NHS to accelerate recovery post-pandemic.

Chief executive Dr Loughran said: “The pandemic has shone a light on the opportunities for digital health technologies to transform our experiences of healthcare, both as clinicians and patients. The consent process, traditionally a rushed conversation on the morning of surgery documented on a carboncopy consent form, has not been fit for purpose for some time. Concentric’s digital transformation of the consent process is one part of the puzzle to delivering patient-centred, value-based healthcare – using innovative and intuitive processes and software to support patients to make the right decisions for them.

“A significant proportion of this investment round has come from consultant surgeons using Concentric in their daily practice and with the backing of our experienced investors and the Development Bank, we have the capital and expertise to successfully scale up both within the UK and globally over the next 18 months.

“I’m particularly delighted to welcome Ed Parkinson on board as our lead investor and investment director at this stage in our journey. He was instrumental in bringing the syndicate together and comes with a proven track record of scaling agile, global technology businesses.”

Mr Parkinson, lead investor for the angel investment syndicate, said: “Concentric is a market proven platform, already improving the lives of patients and their surgeons in some of the busiest hospitals in the NHS; a huge achievement for such a young company. I look forward to supporting this exciting Welsh business as they scale across the UK and beyond.”

Darran Evans is one of the investors working alongside Mr Parkinson as part of the syndicate. He said: “I was delighted to join this syndicate. Ed ensured there was an alignment of views amongst the members of the group. As our lead, Ed was fully engaged with the business while being open and transparent with syndicate members at all times.”

Loosemores advised Concentric Health, and Capital Law were the advisers to the angel investors and Wales Angel Co-investment Fund.