Cumbrian food testing business swallowed by rival

A CUMBRIAN food testing business has been bought by one of its largest competitors.

Kingmoor Technical Services, which has around 70 staff and is based in Carlisle, has been snapped-up by ALS Global’s UK subsidiary for an undisclosed sum.

ALS Global is listed on ASX, the Australian stock market, and has operations at more than 350 locations in 55 countries around the world. Its Cambridgeshire-based UK arm has more than 1,000 employees at 12 sites.

The founder and majority shareholder of Kingmoor Technical Services, Jim Francis, was advised by Manchester professionals from Hurst corporate finance and from law firm Kuits.
 
Kingmoor was founded in 2000 by Mr Francis and has established itself as one of the leading microbiological laboratories in the north.

Matthew Masters, general manager of ALS’s UK and Ireland food and pharmaceutical division, said: “Kingmoor is a growing business with an excellent reputation in our industry for both the quality of its analysis and the consultancy service it provides to customers.

“We have a great opportunity to develop the business further by leveraging our broader geographic coverage and range of testing, and by utilising the benefits of our industry-leading customer portal, Webtrieve.”

Hurst associate partner Tim Scott, added: “Kingmoor is a great business with an outstanding reputation for providing a high-quality service, an impressive customer base and list of accreditations.

“It has lots of synergies with ALS and should continue to thrive in the future under its new ownership.”

Jamie Partridge and James Skivington from Kuits, provided legal advice to Kingmoor’s shareholders.