LGC, the recognised leader in chemical and biological analytical services and reference materials, has been acquired with management by Bridgepoint from LGV Capital in a transaction that values the business at £257 million.

LGC's products and services are focussed on customers in forensic science, pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, development and quality control, food chain and environmental surveillance and safety, life sciences and genomics.

The company is also the UK's designated National Measurement Institute for chemical and biochemical analysis and is the host organisation for the UK's Government Chemist function. LGC has c.1,500 employees in 28 laboratories and centres across Europe and at sites in India, China and the US. Forecast revenue for the year ended 31 March 2010 is £130m, having grown at a compound annual growth rate of c. 18% over the last decade.

David Richardson, chief executive of LGC, said that today's announcement marks the start of a new building phase for LGC and an exciting future.: 'We are delighted that, with Bridgepoint's support, LGC will be well placed to enhance our market coverage and to continue our progress to becoming a world- leading scientific service business.'

Chris Busby, partner at Bridgepoint responsible for investments in the business services sector, commented: ' LGC is strongly placed for further growth on the back of increasing regulation and the trend to outsourcing within both the public and private sectors. We will work with LGC, as the leader with a strong service-based reputation, to support its consolidation of the market as it begins to make focussed acquisitions to build scale in the UK and internationally.'

Advisers involved in this transaction included: for Bridgepoint - HSBC and Rothschild (advisory), HSBC, Lloyds, Bank of Ireland and SocGen (debt), LEK (commercial due diligence), Ernst & Young (financial due diligence), Clifford Chance (legal), ERM (environmental), Deloitte (debt advisory); for management - PWC (advisory); for LGV - KPMG (advisory), Ashurst (legal); for the debt providers - Ashurst (legal). See www.lgc.co.uk.