Fast-growing Welsh HealthTech firm Bond Digital Health has appointed a new chair ahead of a Series A funding round and potential public listing.
Bond’s connectivity and data platform, Transform, collects and stores data from lateral flow diagnostic tests – the same type of rapid tests that are being widely used in the COVID-19 pandemic.
A version of Transform is currently in-market, digitising and powering a Canadian client’s COVID-19 rapid antigen test.
Wayne Harvey is a former senior managing partner for Deloitte in Wales and is currently the chair of Cardiff Airport. He will join Bond as non-executive director and chair on March 1st.
An economics graduate and chartered accountant, Harvey has more than 35 years’ experience in business and finance including 12 years with Ernst & Young and 14 years with Deloitte. Until last month he was chair of CBI Wales.
During that time he has advised dozens of businesses, guiding them through exits, IPOs and trade sale transactions, including providing substantial technical and regulatory input along with guidance on governance, advisor liaison and shareholder communication.
Cardiff-based Bond Digital Health, which develops digital connectivity and data platforms for rapid diagnostic tests, recently completed a £1.2m equity funding raise to help grow the business and expand into new markets.
Harvey said: “Bond is a very exciting opportunity and something to which I can certainly add value. It’s a great business with huge potential.
“For me the most interesting aspect of the business and its products is the wedding of science and technology that gives the ability to communicate a broad range of test results in a fast, effective and secure way between health professionals and the end user.
“That’s a very important feature, it’s what we need particularly now in the pandemic but also longer term, and Bond’s technology can play a key role.
“The opportunities for Bond and its technology are potentially endless.
“The biggest challenge will be picking the right partners and making the best decisions for the next 2-4 years. I will act as a sounding board and guide through some of those decisions as they are being thought through.”
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Harvey said he would draw on his experience of working on a wide range of transactions as both a partner and adviser to make sure Bond was well positioned and had the right governance, reporting and business structures in place to achieve its goals.
Bond Digital Health CEO Ian Bond said: “We’re delighted to welcome Wayne to the team. He is a highly regarded and experienced businessman whose advice and leadership as well as his exceptional deal making skills will be of enormous benefit to our business and will enhance our status in the financial and commercial marketplaces.
“After an incredibly successful few years in which the business has grown rapidly, we are now planning for the future, including a series A funding round and potentially an initial public offering.
“As chair, Wayne will bring not only his experience but also an additional layer of commercial and corporate credibility to the table in these negotiations.
“Beyond that, his role will be essential as we continue to grow the business, develop products and access new markets.”
In 2020 the business received total equity funding of £1.9m from Wealth Club, the high-net-worth investment service, and the Development Bank of Wales as well as more than £200,000 in grants from the Welsh and UK governments.