How Finerva Supported Theragnostics Over The Years Up To Their $41.5m Exit

The company was started in 2013 as Imaging Equipment Research and then re-branded to Theragnostics in 2015 with the ambition to develop radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. Recently, Theragnostics was acquired by Ariceum Therapeutics. 

Finerva and Theragnostics first met in 2018 when Greg Mullen, CEO of Theragnostics, reached out for general Bookkeeping and Accounting support. 

As for most scale-ups, but in particular those looking for external investment, it’s very important to get your financial foundations right from the start and therefore, finding a specialist who understands your needs is crucial. 

Initially, Finerva provided our standard FaaS (Finance-as-a-Service) support that included: 

• Cloud-based bookkeeping system Xero;
• Payroll, real-time information reporting, and year-end returns; 
• VAT returns and filing; 
• Annual accounts preparation and filing; 
• Corporation tax advice and returns; 
• Monthly finance meeting with management; 
• Ad hoc advice for finance and tax queries.

Bookkeepers at Finerva also provided regular updates on the status of the bookkeeping, outstanding information requests, payments, invoicing, and bank reconciliations.

Our Partner & Head of Core Accounting, Seema Kher, oversaw the support we provided and tailored it as the company grew and its requirements changed.

As the company progressed through a series of funding rounds it was eventually subject to due diligence as part of being purchased by Ariceum. The support provided by Finerva was fundamental as it ensured the books were accurate and kept up to date.

Fractional CFO 

As Theragnostics grew, the company needed more financial insight and strategic support. Ben Rule, our Co-Founder, supported Theragnostics by providing Finerva’s Fractional CFO services. This included: 

• Preparing financial summary information for board reports;  
• Consolidated Monthly Management Accounts across the two group entities; 
• Long terms and short-term cash flow forecasting; 
• Meetings to discuss financials; 
• Annual budget including P&L and cash position; 
• Research and Development budgets and tracking; 
• Sales tracking: sales, payments, stock cycle, etc; 
• Ad hoc support to the CEO as required.

Ingrida, a senior bookkeeper at Finerva, supported in delivering the Fractional CFO service by providing ad-hoc analysis, generating reports and supplying additional information to the client as required. 

R&D Tax Credits 

Ben also supported Theragnostics with their R&D Tax Credits claims which provided vital cash reclaims that were available due to their R&D activities. He advised on eligibility for R&D credits, extracted the financial and technical data, drafted a technical narrative, and responded to any queries and challenges from HMRC.  

As Theragnostics is a life sciences business, the preparation of the claims also involved understanding and documenting the clinical phases of the R&D projects and how they fit with the BEIS R&D guidance so that a robust and eligible claim was submitted.  

The cash flow from timely R&D claims was very vital in supporting the company in funding its work and extending its cash runway between funding rounds. 

EMI share options 

Theragnostic wanted to put in place a Share scheme option to reward their employees. Given the valuable benefits provided to employees under the EMI scheme, this was the chosen option, and Finerva supported them throughout the process.   

Adam Brodie, Finerva Co-Founder, advised on eligibility for the EMI scheme and its structuring, and prepared a valuation report which addressed all the different types of valuation that HMRC’s Share and Assets Valuation Team evaluate (including net assets/break-up valuation, fundraising share valuation, sale/purchase of shares valuation). His team also drafted HMRC’s Val231 form and provided supporting documentation. Post submission, our team also answered all HMRC’s queries. 

Year-end accounts 

The preparation of the Statutory Accounts and Corporation Tax Returns brought together the different services of Finerva. The accounts team worked together with FaaS, R&D and EMI to prepare the annual financial statements and corporation tax returns. Whilst the annual accounts and tax returns are often seen as merely compliance, it was important for Theragnostics that they were done accurately and quickly for both its R&D claims and its investment rounds. 

Due Diligence support  

As part of the Due Diligence process, Finerva’s multi-disciplinary team supported Theragnostics during their deal including Fiona Cross (Partner, Tax), Ben Rule and Rowena Wattrus (Partner, Accounts and Tax).     

The support our team provided included: 

• Review of the Term Sheet; 
• Review of Tax and Accounting Warranties; 
• Analysis of the deal structure on EMI share options; 
• Tax considerations and structuring advice;
• Support with the Financial and Tax Due Diligence; 
• Completion of Accounts and Funds Flow preparation; 
• Liaised with Ariceum’s Lawyer and Financial Advisors as part of the SPA, Due Diligence and completion process.  

Finerva will continue working with Theragnostics, providing R&D Tax Credits, Fractional CFO, Accounting and Bookkeeping services. It was a pleasure to support Theragnostics in the years leading to the acquisition by Ariceum and throughout the deal. The Finerva team would like to congratulate the Theragnostics team on a successful deal.  

Greg Mullen, CEO of Theragnostics: ”Finerva has in-depth knowledge of a scale-up landscape and offered invaluable support to our team over the years. We will continue working with Ben and his team in the future and I would recommend their services to all founders looking for tailored financial services support for their businesses across different stages.”