Condoms group spreads shares around

A SUPPLIER of condoms to Her Majesty's forces is coming to London's junior stock market with a value of about £5m.

Sexual Health Group is to list on Ofex, following which it will expand into selling new sexual health testing kits. This, it is hoped, will exploit a Government commitment to crack down on the growing number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in Britain.

The company is headed by George Sutherland, who acted as sales director for the launch of Mates condoms 17 years ago.

He owned the Condomania business which now forms the core of SHG. It expects to sell new testing kits for herpes and chlamydia, and a device to measure ovulation rates, next year.

SHG has brought in as chairman John French to manage the float. He has helped five firms list on Aim in the past two years.

The Condomania brand has captured 8% of the NHS market by selling condoms to doctors who then give them free to patients.

The lubricants on these sheaths have no animal fats, so they are one of the few 'approved by the Vegetarian Society', French said.

The company expects its shares to start trading on 10 January.