premier research   annual report  accounts 2007
report  accounts 2007
focus expertise quality
premier research group plc
30 wellington business park
dukes ride crowthorne
berkshire rg45 6ls
89031 premier research covers  11507  0953  page 1 premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
contents
01 highlights
02 chairman’s statement
04 chief executive’s review
06 financial review
08 therapeutic focus
10 board of directors
11 report of the directors
18 statement of directors’ responsibilities
19 independent auditors’ report
20 group profit and loss account
21 group balance sheet
22 company balance sheet
23 group cash flow statement
25 notes to the financial statements
42 notice of annual general meeting
44 group information
45 proxy form
49 international offices
premier research is a leading solutionsdriven
cro leveraging our commitment to therapeutic
focus and scientific expertise to deliver services
of the highest quality for phase iiv clinical trials
our teams evaluate the unique needs of each
client and provide solutions catered to their
specific project requirements
international offices
principal locations
international
30 wellington business park
dukes ride crowthorne 
rg45 6ls united kingdom
t el 44 01344 752375
fax 44 01344 752374
13 milbanke court 
milbanke way 
bracknell rg12 1rp 
united kingdom
t el 44 01344 458300 
fax 44 01344 458314
birkenweg 14
d64295 darmstadt
germany
t el 49 0 6151 82800
fax 49 0 6151 828010110
united states
center square west 
1500 market street
suite 3500 9th floor
philadelphia 
p a 19102 usa
t el 1 215 282 5500 
fax 1 215 282 5528
2440 sandy plains road
marietta ga 30066
usa
t el 1 770 579 8812
fax 1 770 579 9511
premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
89031 premier research covers  11507  0953  page 2 financial highlights
premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
01
turnover increased
154 to £418m 
2006 £165m
ebita up 108 to £98m
2006 £47m
pretax profit increased 
104 to £43m
2006 £21m
maiden dividend of 05 pence
per ordinary share
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 1 chairman’s statement 
premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
02
as acting chairman i am pleased to report that our results this year are
once again excellent—with strong growth ahead of the market we
undertook one major acquisition during the year—of scirex llc in july
2006—which is reported more fully elsewhere but its beneficial effect
on our business has been enormous notwithstanding it is very
satisfying to report that the existing business also grew organically 
by 207 almost double the generally accepted rate of growth 
for the market
our financial performance including the contribution made by the
scirex acquisition completed in july 2006 was strong with revenues
having grown during the period by 154 to £418m from the previous
year of £165m ebitda including a £02 million noncash charge for
share based payments up by 108 to £98m 2006 £47m and profit
before tax of £43m up from £21m in 2006 despite suffering from
adverse currency exchange effects as over 95 of the revenue is in
either us dollars or euros
strong order intake was maintained with a booktobill ratio at the 
year end of greater than one indicating the consistent growth of the
order bookthis indicator of future sales visibility is increasingly
important and what gives even greater comfort to the board is 
current year trading with revenues on a likeforlike basis significantly 
in excess of the prior period
the group reported an effective tax rate of 21 as the result of a
corporation tax deduction under the provisions of schedule 23 of the
finance act 2003this tax deduction arose from the exercise of share
options and the benefit whilst carrying over into next year is not
expected to be repeated
for the last two years we have decided against declaring any dividends
believing that shareholder interests would be best served by having the
cash reinvested into the business and rewarding shareholders with
capital growth our current share price bears testament to this
approach however as the business matures on to a different level and
as highlighted at the half year the board feel it is now time to
commence a programme of dividend payments and we are therefore
recommending the payment of a maiden dividend of 05p per ordinary
share it is the board’s intention to pay a similar dividend at the interim
stage for the current year and thereafter to adopt a progressive
dividend policy
as highlighted in our trading statement earlier this year we have
established an operating boardthe rationale for this was that going
forward the focus for the group would be twofold accelerating organic
growth and identifying and executing synergistic acquisitionsthis
board is now in place and has already had a positive effect on dayto
day management of the business allowing the main board to focus on
the longer term strategic development of the group including the
pursuit of earnings enhancing acquisitions
further strengthening this strategy i am pleased to welcome two new
board members dr troy mccall as chief operating officer and peter
kyle as cfotroy was appointed to this role on the operating board and
now steps up to the main board in the same role peter previously
financial controller takes over from bernard gallagher the current 
cfo bernard has increasingly taken on more responsibility in the
strategic development of premier research and will become chief
development officer
our results this year are 
once again excellent – 
with strong organic growth
ahead of the market
steve harris
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 2 premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
03
guy patrick chief medical officer and a founder of the company has
become less involved in executive duties as the company has grown
he has now resigned as a director in order to pursue other interests but
he will continue to provide his services to the company on a
consultancy basis as necessary to ensure the smooth transition of
responsibilities and customer relationships
with the appointment of these additional board members and
recognising the increasing number of key senior executives within the
group the board intends to introduce a new long term incentive plan
for such employeesthe plan will be discussed with major shareholders
before any proposals are put forward
in addition to the executive appointments discussed above the
company is actively pursuing the appointment of a new nonexecutive
chairman and an additional nonexecutive director who will chair the
audit committee to balance the composition of the board
the outlook for 2007 for the business remains highly encouraging with
the strong order intake which we experienced toward the end of 2006
continuing into the current year the board is confident that premier
research is in excellent shape and that it operates in an exciting and
growing market we have a strong team in place strengthened by the
management changes announced over the last few months and are
now ideally positioned to take full advantage of growth opportunities
during the next year and beyond
that this has been a very successful year for the group cannot be in
doubt however we must always remember that good financial results
do not happen by themselves they are the culmination of a
tremendous amount of hard work and dedication by all our employees
on behalf of the board and the shareholders i would like to thank them
all for their significant contribution
last year the group anticipated continued growth based on its buy
andbuild strategy to which it had been committed from the start i can
but echo those sentiments and look forward to a continuation of the
strategy which has served your group so well in the past
steve harris
acting chairman
premier research group plc is a major
international contract research organisation
cro with offices covering the whole of
europe and the united states
premier research is committed to delivering excellent service to its customers using the
highest scientific standards intimate local knowledge and stateoftheart technology all
premier research employees are committed first and foremost to fulfilling each
customer’s requirements in a timely accurate and costeffective manner
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 3 chief executive’s review
premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
04
overview
premier research has again put in another extremely strong performance
for the period i am therefore delighted to report a further 12 months of
sustained organic growth complemented by the us acquisition of scirex
in july 2006 our largest to date and highly strategic in further accessing
the important us market
of important note and an illustration of how premier research has
evolved since becoming a public company is the announcement that we
will be paying our first dividendthis factor in itself demonstrates that as a
business we are coming of age and as such are moving away from a
perceived emerging business model to a company with a sustainable and
growing financial model that can facilitate potential funding requirements
by a mixture of both equity and debt
operational review
our continued focus as a leading international pharmaceutical services
group has been on sustainable growth and improving our ability to 
win and deliver higher value multinational projectsthis year has 
seen us further deliver on these goals with turnover increasing by 
over 154 and continued strong demand for our services from new 
and existing international customers with an increased emphasis on
larger value contracts
we now have over 170 customers and have over the period signed 7
preferred provider agreements allowing us greater certainty of repeat
business with those customers it is also important to note that we are
currently working with 15 of the worlds top 20 pharma and biotech
companies and with these contracts there is now a greater emphasis on
winning the more lucrative phase iii work
importantly and to mitigate potential risk we have ensured that there is
no customer or project concentration by having a well spread business
with over 240 current projects across more than 170 customers giving
protection against individual project delays
in 2006 the group saw strong organic growth from the core business and
the benefits from the scirex integration process have exceeded
managements expectations
scirex
scirex was acquired in july 2006 it was the seventh acquisition for the
group and our largest to date it is a full service cro that specialises in
providing outsourced clinical services to the global biotechnology and
pharmaceutical industriesthe company is headquartered in philadelphia
usa and has ten offices located across the us as well as london uk 
and krakow poland scirex offers expertise experience and technology
necessary to develop drugs from phase i to phase iv and is working in 
the same therapeutic areas as premier research particularly in central
nervous system disorders importantly scirex has provided a strategic
footprint for premier research to access doctors and patients within 
the important us market
post acquisition integration
the integration of scirex went extremely well being completed within
one month of acquisition and below budget by at least £100000this
demonstrated managements prudent and skilled approach to acquisition
integrationthat the integration of the largest acquisition to date in one
key territory can be completed quickly and efficiently serves as a huge
endorsement to the ability of the board and key management to
integrate acquisitions into the core businesswe have maintained our
track record of not losing any customers from an acquired company 
or indeed from our core business importantly since the completion 
of the acquisition we have been awarded repeat business from a 
number of legacy customers and we have continued to be successful in
attracting new customers to the enlarged group with the winning of
several new significant global contracts on both sides of the atlantic 
and a substantial number of phase iii projects in the sales pipelinethe
group strongly believes that the scirex acquisition and the skill base 
that it has brought to the group is a significant contributing factor to
recent increases in sales opportunities
the successful completion and integration of this acquisition proved
earnings enhancing to the group in the year it will contribute greatly to
our continued growth as it strengthens our business model and will
enhance our service offering amongst our customer base
our continued focus as a leading
international pharmaceutical
services group has been on
sustainable growth and improving
our ability to win and deliver high
value multinational projects
dr simon yaxley
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 4 premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
05
service offering  sales
our continued focus remains on three of the highest growth areas in
drug development oncology central nervous system and antiinfectives
together with our underlying expertise in paediatrics a specialised area
with strong regulatory drivers however as premier research continues 
its expansion as a leading international pharmaceutical services player
new areas of development within cardiovascular and respiratory 
may be targeted
our expertise across consultancy clinical study delivery data management
and final medical reporting continues to provide us with an extremely
robust business model and an infrastructure which boasts over 750
employees in 31 countriesthis together with a powerful reputation
amongst our peer group continues to provide the kudos to compete for
higher value contracts a trend which we are focused on maintaining and
indeed increasing over time
our diverse and highly credible customer base now comprises over 170
customerswith no contract accounting for more than 15 of revenues in
any one year this continues to provide us with recurring business
endorsing the excellent service delivery we provide
outsourcing market
the outsourcing market continues to be buoyant and the requirement for
outsourced clinical research services continues to grow with the
improved quality reliability safety efficiency and controls associated with
outsourcing trials all the indicators point to this continuing for the longer
term importantly premier researchs positioning within this growing
market will allow the company to exploit the significant opportunities
which arise
current trading
i am delighted to report that we have had a very strong start to the new
financial yearthe continued growth of our sales pipeline with more than
£131m outstanding proposals with customers provide us with further
encouragement of sustaining this aggressive growth strategy of
particular note is that we are now seeing the highest proportion to
date of the phase iii contract work and in particular within the last two
months phase iii paediatric contract work
summary  outlook
these exceptional results for the year are a true reflection of the quality
and motivation of premier researchs operational and sales teams across
both the us and international territories combined with the continued
focus on winning new business and driving organic growth
it is also important to note that our business model of focusing on three
of the highest growth areas in drug development continues to provide us
with a unique proposition to customers and this is truly visible in the
significant contract wins we have achieved whilst competing with larger
generic cro players
with current trading buoyant we move into the new financial year with
confidence our focus remains on both stimulating and accelerating
organic growth and seeking out earnings enhancing synergistic
acquisitions a key focus will also be on continuing to bring further scale
to the business by moving larger and more lucrative contracts through
our sales pipeline
in closing i would again like to reiterate my thanks to all our staff for their
commitment to our new employees who joined us from scirex and to
our shareholders for their continued support
dr simon yaxley
chief executive officer
phase 1   7 phase 4   7
phase 3   39
other   11
phase 2   36
our expertise across
consultancy clinical study
delivery data management and
final medical reporting continues
to provide us with an extremely
robust business model
sales by phase
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 5 financial review
premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
06
results
the results for the year under review include seven months of trading
from the scirex group our largest acquisition to datethe acquisition
and subsequent integration of scirex combined with continued strong
organic growth from our core business has enabled the group to
report on a financial performance that is characterised by growth in all
key financial metrics
turnover for the year ended 31 january 2007 increased by 154 to
£418m and as a result ebitda increased by 108 to £98m ebitda
represents earnings before costs of restructuring amortisation
depreciation taxation and interest and is stated after the inclusion 
of a charge of £02m following the first time adoption of frs20
share based payment
the costs of restructuring were those costs incurred following the
acquisition and subsequent integration of scirex into the group
despite this being the group’s largest acquisition to date the
restructuring and assimilation into the premier research operating
model was as for all prior acquisitions implemented and concluded
swiftly after the transaction was completedthis model of rapid
integration enabled the group to benefit from the synergies arising
from the transaction in the year of the acquisition and kept the
restructuring costs £01m below those anticipated
interest paid during the year was £11mthe increase on last year
reflects the impact of the loan financing used for the prior year and
current year acqusitions
the group tax charge to the profit and loss account for the year was
£09m giving an effective rate of tax of 21 following the application of
relief available under schedule 23 of the finance act 2003 the benefit
of which is expected to carry over into next year
increases in turnover and ebitda combined with lower than
anticipated restructuring costs and a low effective rate of tax resulted 
in a 142 increase in retained profits to £34m and a 93 increase in
earnings per share to 601p
maiden dividend
as evidence of the group’s sound financial footing and future prospects
the directors believe it is appropriate to pay a maiden divdend as 
such the group will seek approval at its annual general meeting 
for its maiden dividend of 05p per share resulting in a dividend
payment of £03m
balance sheet and working capital
the scirex acquisition and subsequent integration has transformed 
the balance sheet of the group and brought our operational metrics
into line with those of the larger cro’s with whom we now 
increasingly compete
goodwill has increased by £189m following the acquisition of scirex
and unbilled services and unearned income have also increased
significantly to £77m and £42m respectively
our revenue recognition rules as in prior years are consistent with 
ias 18 revenue following the acquisition of scirex the type of 
projects we are now delivering will necessarily result in increased
amounts of working capital being categorised as unbilled services 
and unearned income
the highly complementary scirex acquisition has enabled the group 
to bid for win and deliver the larger phase iii trialsthese trials require
greater patient recruitment numbers than the phase ii trials which 
were the group’s main source of income prior to the scirex acquisition
in fact 39 of 2007 sales are for phase iii projects up from 15 in the
prior year and of our current sales pipeline 57 are for phase iii
projectsthis move to managing larger projects means unbilled
services and unearned income will become significant items on the
group’s balance sheet and are another indication of the maturing
nature of the group’s operations
the results for the year under
review include seven months of
trading from the scirex group
our largest acquisition to date
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  1606  page 6 premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
07
there were two share placings in the year under review in respect of
our acquisitions comprising 44m shares associated with the prior year
imform acquisition and 52m shares associated with the scirex
acquisition in addition 22m shares were issued and allotted in respect
of deferred consideration for the pharmdata acquisitionthe exercise of
options under the premier research group plc enterprise management
incentives share option scheme resulted in the issue and allotment of
a further 48000 ordinary shares
treasury policy
the acquisition of the scirex group has meant that a larger proportion
of revenues are earned in us dollars than in the pastthe group
however still is in a position where the cost base and revenues are
matched in sterling euros and us dollar and so are only susceptible to
exchange rate exposure on the translation of profits back to sterling
the group therefore does not have a formal hedging policy but
regularly reviews exchange rates and the mix of business to monitor
the appropriateness of this policy with current bank funding of up to
£215m the group has an exposure to significant increases in base rates
so has chosen to insure against interest rate rises in excess of 2 on its
term loan facilities
international financial reporting standard
these results have been reported under uk gaap the group will be
adopting international accounting standards in 2008 and future results
will therefore be reported under ifrs
outlook
the continued focus on three of the highest growth areas in drug
development and the high percentage of phase iii proposals and
project wins gives cause for high levels of confidence that the group
can continue to deliver strong growth in 2008this confidence is
supported by the number of outstanding proposals with customers
being at an all time high at more than £131m in addition the
appointment of a chief development officer signals the group’s
intention to pursue further acquisition opportunities that can add
significant value to the group
peter kyle
chief financial officer
2005 £93m
2006
2007
2005
2006
2007
2005
2006
2007
£165m
£418m
£21m
£47m
£98m
increased turnover 2007 financial highlights
improved ebitda
£07m
£21m
£43m
improved pbt
170
revenues
£418m  154
ebitda
£98m  108
profit before tax
£43m  104
retained profit
£34m  142
£m 510 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 7 therapeutic focus
since its founding premier research has
conducted hundreds of studies involving many
thousands of patients the group is currently
focused from a sales perspective on the world’s
key outsourcing markets namely the usa and
western europe
central nervous system
the second most important area of premier research’s therapeutic
focus is in the field of central nervous system “cns” disorders and our
experience covers many different indications including migraine
epilepsy attention deficit hyperactivity disorder “adhd” anxiety
depression pain alzheimer’s disease parkinson’s disease and 
sexual dysfunction
cns is one of the key areas of unmet needs in therapeutic terms with
many compounds in the research pipeline and many millions of
sufferers premier research’s expertise is focused on bringing these
compounds through the clinical development process as quickly and
efficiently as possible while maximizing the value of the data and
information produced
premier research is able to assist in designing the optimum clinical
development plan and implementing that plan in the most efficient
and costeffective manner
premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
08
oncology
oncology is one of the most complex areas of clinical research
premier research is able to underpin the success of oncology clinical
programmes by creating teams that have a proven track record in this
therapeutic area
premier research’s oncology centre of excellence provides significant
value for our customers through our physicians and extensive network
of investigative sites premier research has medical oncologists on its
staff who all have wideranging experience in the clinical development
of oncology productsthis includes involvement as investigators safety
monitors programme directors or simply managing clinical trials
premier research has collectively conducted a myriad of cancer trials
spanning many indicationswe maintain and continually enhance a
comprehensive database of highly experienced oncology trialists
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 8 antiinfectives
in addition to the antiinfective programmes conducted by the
company over the past few years premier research currently
employs individuals who have significant experience in the clinical
development of antiinfective agents for the treatment of viral
fungal and bacterial diseases
antiviral experience


Summary:
 chairman’s statement 
premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
02
as acting chairman i am pleased to report that our results this year are
once again excellent—with strong growth ahead of the market we
undertook one major acquisition during the year—of scirex llc in july
2006—which is reported more fully elsewhere but its beneficial effect
on our business has been enormous notwithstanding it is very
satisfying to report that the existing business also grew organically 
by 207 almost double the generally accepted rate of growth 
for the market
our financial performance including the contribution made by the
scirex acquisition completed in july 2006 was strong with revenues
having grown during the period by 154 to £418m from the previous
year of £165m ebitda including a £02 million noncash charge for
share based payments up by 108 to £98m 2006 £47m and profit
before tax of £43m up from £21m in 2006 despite suffering from
adverse currency exchange effects as over 95 of the revenue is in
either us dollars or euros
strong order intake was maintained with a booktobill ratio at the 
year end of greater than one indicating the consistent growth of the
order bookthis indicator of future sales visibility is increasingly
important and what gives even greater comfort to the board is 
current year trading with revenues on a likeforlike basis significantly 
in excess of the prior period
the group reported an effective tax rate of 21 as the result of a
corporation tax deduction under the provisions of schedule 23 of the
finance act 2003this tax deduction arose from the exercise of share
options and the benefit whilst carrying over into next year is not
expected to be repeated
for the last two years we have decided against declaring any dividends
believing that shareholder interests would be best served by having the
cash reinvested into the business and rewarding shareholders with
capital growth our current share price bears testament to this
approach however as the business matures on to a different level and
as highlighted at the half year the board feel it is now time to
commence a programme of dividend payments and we are therefore
recommending the payment of a maiden dividend of 05p per ordinary
share it is the board’s intention to pay a similar dividend at the interim
stage for the current year and thereafter to adopt a progressive
dividend policy
as highlighted in our trading statement earlier this year we have
established an operating boardthe rationale for this was that going
forward the focus for the group would be twofold accelerating organic
growth and identifying and executing synergistic acquisitionsthis
board is now in place and has already had a positive effect on dayto
day management of the business allowing the main board to focus on
the longer term strategic development of the group including the
pursuit of earnings enhancing acquisitions
further strengthening this strategy i am pleased to welcome two new
board members dr troy mccall as chief operating officer and peter
kyle as cfotroy was appointed to this role on the operating board and
now steps up to the main board in the same role peter previously
financial controller takes over from bernard gallagher the current 
cfo bernard has increasingly taken on more responsibility in the
strategic development of premier research and will become chief
development officer
our results this year are 
once again excellent – 
with strong organic growth
ahead of the market
steve harris
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 2 premier research
annual report and accounts 2007
03
guy patrick chief medical officer and a founder of the company has
become less involved in executive duties as the company has grown
he has now resigned as a director in order to pursue other interests but
he will continue to provide his services to the company on a
consultancy basis as necessary to ensure the smooth transition of
responsibilities and customer relationships
with the appointment of these additional board members and
recognising the increasing number of key senior executives within the
group the board intends to introduce a new long term incentive plan
for such employeesthe plan will be discussed with major shareholders
before any proposals are put forward
in addition to the executive appointments discussed above the
company is actively pursuing the appointment of a new nonexecutive
chairman and an additional nonexecutive director who will chair the
audit committee to balance the composition of the board
the outlook for 2007 for the business remains highly encouraging with
the strong order intake which we experienced toward the end of 2006
continuing into the current year the board is confident that premier
research is in excellent shape and that it operates in an exciting and
growing market we have a strong team in place strengthened by the
management changes announced over the last few months and are
now ideally positioned to take full advantage of growth opportunities
during the next year and beyond
that this has been a very successful year for the group cannot be in
doubt however we must always remember that good financial results
do not happen by themselves they are the culmination of a
tremendous amount of hard work and dedication by all our employees
on behalf of the board and the shareholders i would like to thank them
all for their significant contribution
last year the group anticipated continued growth based on its buy
andbuild strategy to which it had been committed from the start i can
but echo those sentiments and look forward to a continuation of the
strategy which has served your group so well in the past
steve harris
acting chairman
premier research group plc is a major
international contract research organisation
cro with offices covering the whole of
europe and the united states
premier research is committed to delivering excellent service to its customers using the
highest scientific standards intimate local knowledge and stateoftheart technology all
premier research employees are committed first and foremost to fulfilling each
customer’s requirements in a timely accurate and costeffective manner
89031 premier research front endqxd  11507  0949  page 3