May 31, 2022 InnovaDerma: From Melbourne to UK Merger
Today InnovaDerma announced its proposed merger with Brand Architekts had become effective. Find out how InnovaDerma went from an Australian startup to a multi-million pound UK merger and how Elemental was able to support the management team throughout.
“Elemental have been with us in the UK from the beginning, they’ve grown with us from our main market listing to being our trusted partner for compliance services year after year”.
Blake Hughes, CEO.
Background
In March 2022, InnovaDerma, the manufacturer of beauty and personal products including SkinnyTan, Charles + Lee and Roots, revealed details of a proposed multi-million-pound merger with UK firm Brand Architekts. The announcement marked an exciting new chapter for the company that began life over 10,000 miles away in Melbourne, Australia.
The Challenge
The company was founded in 2013 as a private startup and following domestic success, the company’s then Australian management team wanted to enter Europe with a public listing. With such rapid expansion so far from home they wanted some extra help.
After meeting several UK professional services firms, the Board elected to work with a relative newcomer, Elemental CoSec. The Board was impressed with Elemental’s ability to put together a small but experienced multi-disciplined team that could work closely with their overseas management team and at pace.
The Solution
In September 2014, Elemental formed a UK plc and handled the transaction to insert it as the holding company for the Australian business. Then, in May 2015, Elemental helped the company to list on the Euronext Marché Libre in Paris. Sixteen months following their Paris debut InnovaDerma successfully listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange raising c. £1.3m. Elemental was able to advise on not only the UK listing requirements and company law aspects, but also the commercial and regulatory regime in the UK throughout this process.
As the company set its sights on growth, emphasis was put on the composition of the board and ensuring that they had the right skills and experience. Elemental was retained by the board to ensure good governance was in place and that it continued to meet its listing obligations and Governance Code of Conduct.
As sales grew so did the company’s UK footprint and production for flagship products moved to the UK and headcount grew. Elemental was once again able to put in place an experienced and agile team that was able to advise on: tax, accounting, share incentives, HR and payroll services.
The result
Elemental has supported InnovaDerma for 8 years, working closely with three CEOs during this period. It is incredibly rare for a professional services firm to stay with a client throughout this journey and it speaks to the great working relationship between InnovaDerma and Elemental.
Despite difficult trading conditions brought on by Covid InnovaDerma has tripled revenue since launching in the UK. The company now enjoys a presence in Europe, US, Australasia, Asia and Africa and is poised to create a compelling new offer in the sector through its merger with Brand Architekts.
Recently, Elemental helped the Board to transition to a new CEO, Blake Hughes, and advise the new team on how to meet its strategic priority of creating open, transparent shareholder relationships. Assisting with corporate actions and liaising with regulators, such as the FCA and the London Stock Exchange, as appropriate.
Innovaderma’s CEO, Blake Hughes said: “The team at Elemental have been invaluable to IDP and are one of our most trusted partners. Over the years they’d clearly taken the time to understand all aspects of the business and are always able to provide a joined-up view on day-to-day Board-level matters. What I think has impressed me the most is their agility to partner with InnovaDermna through all of the stages of its journey and to always supply both the professional services and sage advice that have always been crucial”.
Since helping Innovaderma, Elemental has helped dozens of other overseas firms and become one of the leading corporate services firms in the UK. In 2021, they were named Service Provider of the year by the Chartered Governance Institute.
