Essilor buys 80% stake in Leicestershire lab

Essilor has acquired an 80 per cent stake in Leicester Optical, an independent laboratory based in Rothley, Leicestershire.

Under the partnership agreement, Leicester Optical will continue to operate under its current strategies and offer a broad range of products, with the management team remaining in place.

Established in 1992, Leicester Optical is a wholesale supplier of optical lenses and frames. It supplies the UK market with stock lenses, surfaced prescription lenses and coatings. It employs five glazing technicians among its 20 members of staff and has annual sales of €1.8m, according to Essilor.

The announcement came on the same day that Essilor released its third-quarter financial results statement, in which it revealed that it had acquired 17 other companies during the first nine months of 2010. The acquisition of these companies represents additional full year revenue to Essilor of approximately €92m.