green chemicals plc was formed in January 2007 when Primavera Capital, a newly listed vehicle on PLUS Markets acquired Perachem Limited, a chemical platform developer spun out of the University of Leeds and backed by IP Group plc, which remains one of our principal shareholders.

Following the acquisition, Primavera became Eco Chemical Enterprises plc which in turn was renamed green chemicals plc in August 2007.

Perachem was founded in 2005 by Professor David Lewis, a former Professor of Colour Chemistry at the University of Leeds, to research and commercialise speciality chemicals. It had targeted a range of industrial chemical processes with a more benign safety/environmental footprint than existing products but with similar performance characteristics. It is the potential applications of these chemical platforms that hold the key to the Company’s future development.

The initial formulations developed by Perachem include shrink-resistant treatments for wool; flame-retardant treatments for textiles; elemental chlorine-free bleaching agents for textiles, paper pulp and natural fibres; and textile treatments targeting anti-microbial protection against bacteria. All these formulations target applications where significant concern over safety / environmental impact of the current processes exists.

The change of name to green chemicals plc reflected the strategy of the Group to acquire cleaner, greener and safer chemistry Intellectual Property (IP) through the acquisition of companies with complementary IP to Perachem.

green chemicals plc combines the commercial knowledge of Primavera’s directors Richard Farleigh and Stephen Winston with the scientific expertise of Perachem’s founder Professor Lewis (now Chief Scientific Officer) and Dr. Andrew Bayliff (Chief Executive Officer) and the rest of the team.

Perachem is currently green chemicals plc’s sole subsidiary.