Maven completes an investment in Crawford Scientific

Maven has completed a £3.9m investment in Crawford Scientific (Crawford), investing alongside founder Sam Crawford and the senior management team, as part of a strategic plan to grow the business in the UK and internationally. 

Established in 1985 and with a turnover now in excess of £10m, Crawford provides chromatography consumables, instrument parts and technical services to a wide range of industries including the pharmaceutical and oil & gas sectors. Located in Strathaven, 15 miles south of Glasgow, the business supplies laboratories across the UK, mainland Europe and the USA. Crawford’s customer base includes a number of blue-chip clients such as GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and BP.

Crawford has built up an excellent reputation over the past 30 years for its technical expertise and exceptional customer service. Its range of value-add technical support services which includes training, e-learning, analytical services, IT solutions and consultancy, has helped differentiate the business from its competitors and provides a solid platform for growth.

The global market for products and services related to chromatography is valued at $7.4bn and is predicted to grow between 4% to 6% per annum. Chromatography techniques are now becoming more prevalent in other sectors, such as food & beverage and environmental monitoring, as these markets become ever more regulated.

The new investment will afford Crawford the opportunity to pursue its organic growth strategy with a particular emphasis on its service offering, develop new markets and actively look at strategic acquisition opportunities.

As part of the transaction Sean Kerr will join the board as Chairman. Sean brings a wealth of experience from his prior role as MD of Exova Europe and will help support the business as it enters its next phase of growth.

David Milroy, Investment Director at Maven, said: “Sam has done a fantastic job in building the business and has surrounded himself with a great team. We have been impressed by the technical capability of the individuals that enables the company to present to the market a true end-to-end Chromatography offering. The business is well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities open to it and this is underpinned by a favourable outlook for its target markets. We look forward to working with Sam and the wider team to deliver our shared growth ambitions.”

Sam Crawford, Managing Director at Crawford Scientific added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Maven and look forward to working with them to help build further on the company’s achievements to date. We have a very capable and driven team at Crawford who have the success of the company at the heart of everything they do, ensuring that we deliver a valued service to our customers. Our people are key to the future growth of the business and this transaction will enable them to share in that success. Crawford is in a fantastic position to deliver further growth in the coming years and we are delighted that we will be able to draw upon the experience of both Maven and Sean Kerr as we move forward.”