BPC is excited to present an exclusive conversation with George Karafotias, CEO of Wellnex Life and the new Non-Executive Chair, Mario Tascone as they discuss the game-changing acquisition of PainAway and the exciting decision to dual list on the London Stock Exchange.

Join host Jack Colreavy, CFA, as he explores the unique hurdles they faced and the strategy behind the Company’s step towards the LSE.

For further information on this Investment Opportunity, please contact James Whelan.

Read the Conversation:

Welcome. My name is Jack Colreavy, Associate Director at Barclay Pierce Capital. Today, we're shining a light on ASX listed consumer healthcare company, Wellnex Life, which trades under the ticker WNX.  Today we'll cover off on some recent acquisitions and the exciting international growth opportunities ahead for the stock.

My guests today are Mario Tascone, the chairman of Wellnex and George Karifotias, who is the CEO. Welcome guys. Thanks for coming on. Thanks Jack. Thanks for having us. Mario, look, I'll kick off with you, uh, because you're the newest face, uh, to the team at Wellnex. You've recently come on as the chair of the board.

Um, so firstly, welcome. Um, thank you, but many would be unfamiliar with your background. So do you mind, um, sharing with us your professional history?  Um, I'm a pharmacist by trade. So, um, you know, from uni in the, in the late eighties and, uh, worked in, uh, inside what is now called  CW retail chemist with the chemist warehouse group, um,  started here as an intern way back in 1989, um,  uh, became a pharmacist, uh, qualified as a pharmacist, managed a few shops, then bought a few shops with the founders, uh, over many years.

And about 2007, I moved into the role of chief operating officer,  uh, and that's when chemist warehouse really started to grind and, uh, we grew, um, and, uh, been pretty much in that role. Um, ever since, um, now, I have a couple of other people that report to me, um, because operations is such a big, uh, part of what is such, becomes such a big beast over the last few years.

Um, um, so my official title is director. I sit on the Chemists Warehouse Board and have been for, for a while, since its inception pretty much. So that's my history of overseeing the Chemists Warehouse rise, um, which has been quite a long journey over many decades.  So pharmacy, consumer healthcare, very much in your, in your DNA.

Um, and I think Wellnex is, is very lucky to have someone of your caliber helping steer direction and strategy. George, I'll turn to you and let's talk a bit more about Wellnex. So the company recently made. What I would call a transformative acquisition in the form of PainAway. Um, and that's really an iconic Australian, um, pain relief brand.

Can you, um, talk to us about what was the reasoning behind the, uh, acquisition and how it's performed? Um, since you've taken it under your umbrella. Yeah, good question, Jack. So, you know, when we identified, or when we came to know that PainAway was potentially up for sale,  it sort of made perfect sense for Wellnex.

We are a young company. We're only two and a half years into our journey. We've got a lot of young developing brands.  And when you have a brand like PainAway that's been in the market for close to 25 years, You know, it's got a long history of growing revenue. It's got high margins. But the other thing that appealed to us has got a lot of untapped potential.

You know, thanks for the infrastructure we've got,  we can really expand on it. Um, there is, you know, some low-hanging fruits by expanding further into grocery, which is severely under-traded at the moment. It does know international sales. And it's always been a topical pain relief brand. Um, and we think there's scope to further expand the product offering to other categories.

So, and we're looking at the more at the moment with the help of the board led by Mario, there's some really exciting things that we're looking at at the moment that can really grow this brand to the next stage.  And how's it performing? It's, it's performing as we expected. It's performing based on the numbers that we saw from the previous vendor.

What's really pleasing for us and what was really important for us is to make sure that margin. Was there for us and it is, and, and that's, what's going to turn the whole group, um, into a profitable organization. And that's really critical. And that was one of the reasons that we fought so hard last year with the help of Barclay Pierce Capital, just to kill the brand in December.

Um, and it's transformed the companies. It's given us a scale. It's given us a lot of credibility and it's given us the opportunity to really. allow the other brands to naturally grow and because they are young and they've got a lot of growth to do. And we're on, we're only a marathon. Um, Mario is a marathon runner and I'll put in this analogy, we're in a 42K race.

We're only probably at the second kilometer. Um, we've got a long way to go, but it's exciting where we're heading.  Yeah. Um, and I love that metaphor. I have marathon heritage as well. So, um, it's great to see such a mature brand. They're helping the stable of young brands and sort of leading together for future growth.

So, I mean, we've talked so much about the domestic market, but Wellnex has a huge opportunity in terms of international growth. Mario, can you speak to some of the exciting growth opportunities just in 2024 for Wellnex?  Well, just in a media rise, I mean, George is right, the company is in a, it's in a really exciting stage.

It's a, it's, you know, it's a, it's that trans transformative stage. Um, and you know, the launch is imminent of our products through Haley and in the UK and the UAE. Uh, and it's the first exciting time. It's the first time the company will generate revenue outside of Australia and New Zealand. And we're really pumped about that.

That, that's a game changer for us. Um, and this comes on the top of, you know, uh, a larger shareholder who's home, uh, uh, using their extensive distribution network to take all of our brands into that lucrative Asian market. And there you're talking a whole other level, so, uh, really exciting times ahead. 

And um, I guess part of building that international Wellnex brand is the recent decision to dual list the stock on the London Stock Exchange. Um, George, can you elaborate on the reasoning behind it? Um, and also. What went into, uh, making the decision in terms of due diligence and market research? So let me start with the second part of your question.

Um, you know, we were approached through Barclay Pearce Capital in September about the possibilities of taking this company into the London, into the London market.  At that point of time, we were still going through the PainAway, um, transaction and it just didn't seem the right time to complicate the story as we were trying to raise money  here in Australia.

But we kept in constant dialogue with all the advisors that, um, in London over that period of time. And when we completed the, um, acquisition of PainAway in December 2023, we engaged with all the London advisors through Barclay Pierce Capital and really explored the opportunities that a potential London listing would bring to Wellnex. 

And I must pay, you know, special mention to the board. I've been very supportive to the management team here at Wellnex and provide us with guidance and got really actively involved in, in making sure that the decision  to go to London is the right one for the company. Moving forward.  The other thing I would say is that, you know, it was an extensive due diligence process.

The board and management met with the London advisors on multiple times. We did conduct a very wide search institutional roadshow, no dual roadshow to make sure that. You know, what the advisors were telling us was actually backed up by the end of the day, the most important parties to this listing is the, is the investors. 

And the feedback that we've got is, you know, it's a phenomenal story that we've got here. We severely undervalued on the ASX, and there's lots of opportunities to really. wider now, uh,  the awareness of the company and the investment market, which is really, really important at the moment that our register is very institutional light.

And what this will bring us is a wide range of institutional investors, um, based in the UK onto our register. It also give us a lot of exposure. Um, and, and as we're growing internationally, as Maria just pointed out, it does add a lot of credibility. And the other thing I would note in regards to London and why we've chosen London, it is a home to a lot of the largest pharmaceutical companies, in the world and including, you know, one of our strategic partners in Halion.

So it just made perfect sense. So we're really excited. We've started the journey. The board's been an amazing support for the company led by Mario. And, um, you know, hopefully in the next two or three months, we're going to see some really exciting, um, news coming through.  Yeah, I'm completely sort of mirror your comments there.

Halion is a big brand in the UK. It is listed over there. Um, and it adds a lot of credibility for the Wellnex brand. So, um, I think all up, summing up, Wellnex is a stock to watch. Um, you know, recent acquisitions adding high margin business to, to the, the, the, the, um, financial statements, and then also massive growth opportunities internationally.

So for investors who would like to invest into Wellnex, it trades on the ASX under the ticket  WNX. And if you'd like to learn more, please click the link in the description. Thanks for your time today guys. Really appreciate it.