Testing laboratories group annual results

The Board of LGC Group Holdings has announced its annual results, the tenth set since LGC, a former Executive Agency of the DTI, became a private company in 1996.

The Board of LGC Group Holdings has announced its annual results, the tenth set since LGC, a former Executive Agency of the DTI, became a private company in 1996 to meet the needs of modern society through its scientific services.

Turnover in 2005-06 was GBP85.9m, compared to GBP15m in 1996-97, reflecting LGC's strong and consistent performance and international expansion in the UK, Europe and India.

Reflecting on LGC's 10th Anniversary, Dr Richard Worswick, LGC's Deputy Chairman, said: "The first decade since the management buy-out has seen the transformation of LGC from a government agency into a thriving international company, widely respected for the quality of its science, innovation and service delivery.

During this period there have been major advances in analytical technology and automation, and LGC is now a leading player in diverse fields including food safety, forensic science, DNA and genetic measurement, and laboratory standards through its international network of laboratories." In August 2005, LGC acquired Forensic Alliance Limited (FAL) to create the UK's largest independent forensic science provider, LGC Forensics, offering a fully comprehensive forensic resource from six sites: Teddington, Culham, Runcorn, Risley, Leeds and Tamworth.

LGC's growth internationally was marked this year through two acquisitions in Germany -- a specialist genomics company based in Berlin, and a paternity and forensic DNA testing provider based in Kandouml;ln - and by the opening of its first laboratory in India to synthesise pharmaceutical impurities for use in manufacturing quality control.

Other highlights of the past year include: Enabling the Over Thirty Month (OTM) Rule change by providing Defra with BSE testing operations with an overnight service to abattoirs licensed to process OTM cattle for human consumption; Becoming the first independent accredited laboratory to be approved as a member of the Department of Health's UK Genetic Testing Network (UKGTN); Offering the first pharmacogenetic screening service in an agreement with King's College London, to predict whether a schizophrenia patient will respond positively to clozapine.

Dr Nigel Law, LGC's Chief Executive, said: "At LGC, we constantly evaluate the services we provide now, and those which we believe will be needed by society in the future.

As much of our work is characterised by competitive tendering, we will continue to seek new and better ways to deliver and innovate the scientific services needed by the public and private sectors in the UK and elsewhere.

We therefore anticipate a period of further investment in our analytical capability to equip LGC for growth opportunities in the UK and internationally.

We will also continue to contribute to the competitiveness of UK industry through our designated role as the UK's National Measurement Institute for chemical and biochemical measurement.".

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