LGC Group, UK, completed the acquisition of BRC Global Standards, a London-based provider of safety and quality standards programs for food and non-food manufacturing, packaging, storage, distribution and retail. The acquisition marks the next stage in BRC Global Standards' strategic transition from being a standards owner to a brand and consumer protection organization.

BRC Global Standards' written standards 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.

"We are delighted to be adding BRC Global Standards to our standards division. BRC Global Standards is a globally recognized 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,” says Euan O'Sullivan, managing director of LGC's standards division. “We look forward to working with BRC Global Standards' management to continue internationalizing the business while developing new and innovative solutions to meet our customers' needs."

"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,” adds Mark Proctor, chief executive officer of BRC Global Standards. “This investment will also enable us to save more lives by expanding our product offering and cementing our position as a recognized 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 United States, 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.

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 forward.

LGC's Standards division is a leading manufacturer and distributor of reference materials, clinical calibration and verification materials and proficiency testing schemes, supporting quality assurance requirements.