BRC Global Standards acquired by LGC

25-Nov-2016 - Last updated on 25-Nov-2016 at 12:37 GMT

LGC Group has acquired the majority share of BRC Global Standards

Scientific testing specialist LGC Group has acquired a majority share in food safety and quality standards programme provider BRC Global Standards, for an undisclosed sum.

Previous owner, the British Retail Consortium, will retain a minority stake in BRC Global Standards and will remain on its board to ensure an easy transition for its customers.

The investment by LGC, which was founded in 1996 by the privatisation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, will fuel BRC Global Standards’ global expansion plans over the next five years, according to the company.

These expansion plans include: enabling investigation of a wider range of health and safety issues, predictive analytics and ethical trading and IT development to enable real-time business intelligence for supply chains.

Overseeing the buyout

It is unclear whether there will be any job losses as part of the takeover, but BRC Global Standards did confirm that its management team would be overseeing the buyout.

BRC Global Standards ceo Mark Proctor said that LGC’s international presence would support the organisation’s growth plans. Its customer base would benefit from BRC Global Standards’ 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,” added Proctor.

Euan O’Sullivan, md of LGC’s Standards Division said BRC Global Standards complemented the organisation’s existing strengths across testing and food standards.

‘Internationalising the business’

“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,” continued O’Sullivan.

BRC Global Standards provides safety and quality standards programmes for food manufacture, packaging, storage and distribution that are used by 24,000 companies across 130 countries.

Meanwhile, there have been a number of food company acquisitions over the past month.

This month saw Cranswick acquire Dunbia’s Ballymena pork business, Greencore purchase US firm Peacock Foods and Cooplands being saved from administration after being bought out.