The Business Growth Fund (BGF) — set up in 2011 to provide long-term investment to Britain’s small and medium-size businesses — has injected £4 million of growth capital into Harlow-based Molecular Products Group (MPG), which develops and manufactures medical devices, gas filters and oxygen generators (including an emergency oxygen system for the International Space Station).
Owned by the McKernan family, MPG has manufacturing facilities in Harlow and in Boulder, Colorado, plus a network of subsidiaries and distributors around the world.
It currently has an annual turnover of about £20 million. BGF’s investment will enable MPG to increase its share of existing markets, to enter new ones — such as India and Japan — and to develop further innovations.
Key new technologies that the company is working on include high-performance activated carbons, which offer enhanced filtration and absorption of harmful gases, and a portable oxygen generator that can deliver medical-grade oxygen to the battlefield.
BGF senior investment manger Mark Nunny, who has joined the MPG board, says: “MPG has established strong niche positions in competitive markets by developing a differentiated portfolio of products.
“With the momentum of fresh investment behind it, the business is ready to further develop its product offering and expand into new markets — all of which makes for an exciting growth story that we are very pleased to be a part of.”