THE company sponsoring Huddersfield’s premier sports stadium is up for sale.

Pharmaceuticals supplier Galpharm International, which sponsors the Galpharm Stadium, has been put up for sale by chairman and principal shareholder Graham Leslie.

It is understood that negotiations with a potential buyer are under way.

Mr Leslie was unavailable to comment on the move, but the company reassured Town and Giants fans that any deal would not affect the firm’s sponsorship of the stadium.

Galpharm International is three years into a 10-year sponsorship deal for the venue.

Mr Leslie, a former professional footballer, was involved in developing plans for the stadium during his time as a director of Huddersfield Town and, briefly, its chairman in the early 1990s.

It is believed that Mr Leslie would continue to be involved with Galpharm following any deal, with the new majority shareholder investing extra money to help Galpharm into new overseas markets.

Mr Leslie, who was brought up in Honley, founded Galpharm in 1982 with capital of £5,000 from Lloyds Bank. He has built the business up into the UK’s leading supplier of private label medicines.

The company is based at Dodworth, near Barnsley and employs some 64 people. It supplies over-the-counter medicines to almost all the major UK multiple grocery and pharmacy stores.

On average, every person in the UK buys two to three packs of Galpharm-produced medicines every year at prices that are typically 20% to 75% less than the equivalent leading brands

Galpharm-branded painkillers Ibuprofen and Paracetamol are the most widely used in the UK, significantly outselling other brands.

Galpharm brands of Cetirizine and Loratadine, used to treat hay fever and other allergies, are also market leaders. The firm also sells products in Italy, Poland and Holland and sources products from suppliers in the UK, Ireland, USA, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Hungary, Israel and India.

Galpharm products include adult painkillers, children’s medicines, cough and cold remedies, treatments for constipation, upset stomachs and allergies.

It also produces foot care, skin care and eye care products.