Follow Woodford into Revolymer

It should be emphasised upfront that Revolymer is a highly speculative stock, best suited to a portfolio that also includes more predictable and stable investments. Although its target markets are huge, the company is still at an early revenue stage and is not forecast to make a profit this year or next, meaning a valuation is more reliant on its intangible assets.

That said, there is a huge amount in these assets to give prospective investors confidence. Revolymer raised £25m when it floated on Aim in 2012, having identified the nicotine-gum market as a promising short-term opportunity, where its technology can remove the gum's bitterness and give it better chewing characteristics. Since then, and under a new management team, the focus has expanded to a wider range of markets, including household products, personal care and coatings and adhesives.

There are signs this is starting to bear fruit. The commercial prospects for Revolymer's encapsulation technology were recently boosted by two important licensing deals. In both cases, the ingredient in question is sodium percarbonate, a bleaching agent used in laundry and dish washer detergent. Demonstrating its ability to license its intellectual property (IP) to a global market, Revolymer has struck agreements with Belgian chemicals giant Solvay and US-based OCI Chemical Corporation, for use of the polymer in liquid and powder formulations to broaden product markets and improve shelf life.

Both of these deals are royalty-based, although the company is open to outsourcing the manufacture of products that might be sold to niche, high-margin markets. The agreements also provide blue-chip endorsement of the company's technology, auguring well for licensing of Revolymer's second major group of 'moisture management' patents in cosmetic and make-up products.

For a company that employs just 25 people in an industrial park just outside of Chester, Revolymer has also assembled a top drawer management team, including John Keenan, the former chief executive and chairman of Kraft Foods. The company is led by chief executive Dr Kevin Matthews, who joined last September after a decade spent as a non-executive overseeing the strategic overhaul of FTSE 250 chemicals group Elementis (ELM). Revolymer can also boast a team of non-executive directors which include current and former board members of Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH), ICI, IP (IPO) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).