LONDON — Peter Allen has become Group Finance Director of Abacus Group where he replaces Peter Griffith-Jones, who retires after 17 years with the company.

Allen (left) joins Abacus from Celltech Group where he was Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Celltech, one of the leading biotechnology companies in Europe with its shares listed in London and New York, was acquired recently for £1.5 billion by UCB.

Joining before the flotation of Celltech in 1993, Mr Allen was involved in a series of acquisitions including Chiroscience for £330 million, Medeva for £600 million and Oxford Glycosciences for £100 million.