A private equity fund has invested £2.5million in an online GP service led by De Montfort University Leicester (DMU)’s Entrepreneur in Residence.
Suleman Sacranie, a consultant in DMU’s Leicester Business School, is the chief executive officer of The GP Service, which allows patients to order prescriptions and consult their GP online.
The online pharmacy and prescription market is booming as waiting times for GP appointments get longer and surgery opening times fail to keep pace with people’s busy lifestyles.
The GPS web-based platform is already fully operational, with GP consultations being delivered live via video link direct, and prescriptions issued to a pharmacy of the registered user’s choice.
With the service operating daily from 7am to 8pm, it provides the flexibility required by people who are currently unable to visit a doctor or obtain a prescription within traditional surgery opening hours.
Suleman, who is helping develop DMU’s MBA course and works closely with the enterprise team at DMU Innovation Centre, enlisted the help of MBA students in the research and testing stage of The GP Service’s products and services.
Their feedback allowed the company to further develop its services and The GP Service aims to work with the MBA cohort in developing new products.
Suleman is an online entrepreneur who started and sold his first company at the age of 19. At 21 he started the ‘99p Shopper’ franchise which was sold last year and has now launched theGPService.co.uk a concept to allow all pharmacies across the UK to offer a doctor service from within their pharmacy by receiving the prescription in real-time electronically.
Suleman, who has won a wealth of awards including being named Midlands Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 in the Midlands Business Awards, is no stranger to television work. He starred in BBC’s successful Million Dollar Intern which saw young entrepreneurs go under cover to help revitalise struggling businesses and Pocket Money Pitch on the BBC Children’s channel this year.
Investors at Maven said that the company was “an exciting new venture”. The GP Service’s executive chairman is Atul Devani, who founded United Clearing which sold in 2006 for £25million. He went on to be CEO of the wireless division of British technology group The BSG Group, which sold for $290million.
Stella Panu, partner at Maven, said: “We are very pleased to be supporting Atul and his ambitious management team in this exciting new venture. The increasing appetite from busy people for alternative ways to seek quality, reliable medical advice and treatments, in the face of demanding lifestyles and increasing GP waiting times, means that the business is well placed to achieve significant growth.
“The investment in GPS offers Maven clients an excellent opportunity to invest in an innovative new business. We’ve successfully backed Atul in a previous business, and look forward to working closely with Atul and the senior team at the forefront of this emerging sector.”
Posted on Tuesday 5 July 2016