LGC Acquires BRC Global Standards

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LONDON, Nov. 25 / PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ -

     - LGC expands its supply chain assurance offering, creating a new business

unit within its Standards division to focus on this growing market

    - BRC Global Standards' activities are highly complementary to LGC's

existing capabilities in reference standards, proficiency testing and sports

supplements supply chain assurance

    - BRC Global Standards benefits from LGC's global network to develop

further in new territories and accelerate its transition into a consumer and

brand protection solutions leader

     Today, LGC announced that it has completed the acquisition of BRC Global

Standards, the world's largest provider of safety and quality Standards

programmes for food and non-food manufacture, packaging, storage, distribution

and retail based in London. The acquisition marks the next stage in BRC Global

Standards' strategic transition from being a Standards owner to a brand and

consumer protection organisation, with a range of products and services to help

its customers deal with the challenges of producing safe, high quality products

for the end consumer on a global basis.

    Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160701/385677LOGO

     BRC Global Standards' written Standards across food safety, packaging,

storage & distribution, agents & brokers, consumer products and retail underpin

the achievement of consistent quality, safety and operational standards

throughout the supply chain, providing protection for the end consumer.

Compliance with BRC Global Standards is now often a fundamental requirement of

leading retailers, manufacturers and quick service restaurants.

    Euan O'Sullivan, Managing Director of LGC's Standards Division, said: "We

are delighted to be adding BRC Global Standards to our Standards division. BRC

Global Standards is a globally recognised and respected brand and its

capabilities are highly complementary to LGC's existing strengths across

reference standards, proficiency testing and sports supplements supply chain

assurance. We look forward to working with BRC Global Standards' Management to

continue internationalising the business while developing new and innovative

solutions to meet our customers' needs."

    Commenting on the acquisition Mark Proctor, CEO of BRC Global Standards

said: "We are delighted to have LGC as the new owner of our business since it

has an international presence to support our growth plans and a customer base

who will benefit from our services. This investment will also enable us to save

more lives by expanding our product offering and cementing our position as a

recognised global leader in consumer and brand protection solutions"

    The investment will fuel international growth planned by BRC Global

Standards over the next five years to add to its existing presence in the UK,

India and US; enable investigation of wider consumer and brand protection

solutions including health and safety,  predictive analytics and ethical

trading; and underpin planned investment in IT development to enable real time

business intelligence for supply chains. The same successful management team

who have grown the company into the thriving international business it is today

will lead this transition.

    BRC Global Standards has historically been developed as a division of the

British Retail Consortium (BRC), which remains a minority shareholder in the

business going forwards. Their programme is used by over 24,000 certificated

suppliers in 130 countries, with certification issued through a worldwide

network of accredited certification bodies. BRC will have a seat on BRC Global

Standards' Board to ensure continuity and stability for customers and

specifiers.

    LGC's Standards division is a leading manufacturer and distributor of

reference materials, clinical calibration and verification materials and

proficiency testing schemes, supporting customers worldwide with their quality

assurance requirements.

    Notes to Editors

    LGC is an international life sciences measurement and testing company with

leading positions in growing markets. LGC provides a range of measurement

products and services which underpin the safety, health and security of the

public, including reference materials and proficiency testing, genomics

reagents and instrumentation, and expert sample analysis and interpretation.

LGC serves customers across a number of end markets including Pharmaceuticals,

Agricultural Biotechnology, Diagnostics, Food, Environment, Government and

Academia.

    LGC's headquarters are in London and the company employs over 2,500 people,

operating out of 22 countries worldwide. Its operations are extensively

accredited to international quality standards such as ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 13485,

ISO 9001, GMP, GLP and ISO Guide 34.

    With a history dating back to 1842, LGC has been home to the UK Government

Chemist for more than 100 years and is the designated UK National Measurement

Institute for chemical and bio measurement. LGC was privatised in 1996.

http://www.lgcgroup.com

    BRC Global Standards is the world's largest provider of safety and quality

standards programmes for food manufacture, packaging, storage, and

distribution. The global standards are used by over 24,000 certificated

suppliers in over 130 countries with certification issued through a worldwide

network of accredited certification bodies. BRC Global Standards guarantee the

standardisation of quality, safety and operational criteria and ensure that

manufacturers fulfil their legal obligations and provide protection for the end

consumer. http://www.brcglobalstandards.com

    The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is the UK's leading retail trade

association working with members to tell the story of retail, shape debates and

influence issues and opportunities which will help make a positive difference.

It represents the full range of retailers, large and small, multiples and

independents, food and non-food, online and store based. The BRC has over 90

retail members representing 70 per cent of the UK retail industry.

http://brc.org.uk

    Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161124/442804-INFO

    Source: BRC Global Standards