Forensic science group LGC up for sale at £700m, owner Bridgepoint expects huge returns

The Laboratory Government Chemist (LGC), the forensic science group that has been helping police solve countless crimes, is now put up for sale by the private equity firm Bridgepoint for £700 million.

The forensic service provider was privatized in 1996 for £3 million. After that, LGC went through a series of changes until it was finally bought by Bridgepoint from Legal & General Ventures in 2010 for £257 million.

Bridgepoint is expected to gain huge returns if LGC gets sold. According to reports, the giant private equity firm hired advisers from prominent investment banks HSBC and JPMorgan to develop its merger and acquisition plans. Reports from banking sources claim that these appointments point to Bridgepoint going for a sale in the next few months.

Besides the crime drama TV series, DNA profiling truly did help increase the number of crimes solved since 2004. Around £45 million of the £3 billion budget of the Metropolitan Police was spent on forensic science in 2007. Some of the most notable crimes that LGC has solved were the Battle of the Somme, the Jersey child-abuse inquiry, Damilola Taylor killing, and the Rachel Nickell murder. Besides forensic science, LGC also has food, drug, and medical testing products to offer.

During LGV's ownership, LGC has grown rapidly, expanding to Germany. It has benefited from the growing trend of the government using private owned group to handle its forensic work. In 2003, the company only had 700 staff and £52 million of revenue. Now, it has more than 1,500 employees and made £130 in 2010. It has a compound annual growth of 18 percent during that time span.

LGC was founded in 1842. It was when the Laboratory Board of Excise was founded in London to examine tobacco. The group was appointed as the referee analyst in 1975 under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act. It transitioned to a private company in 1996 when the Tory Government under Sir John went for a sell-off. However, it continued to provide opinion for food, drugs, and agriculture for the government after the privatization.