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RNS Number : 8524W  BSF Enterprise PLC  17 March 2026

17 March 2026

BSF Enterprise PLC

 

Significant Commercial Milestone for Lab-Grown Leather Tanning

 

BSF Enterprise PLC (LSE: BSFA), the tissue-engineering innovator, is pleased
to report a major technical and commercial milestone for its wholly-owned
subsidiary, Lab-Grown Leather Ltd ("LGL"). LGL has successfully tanned
scaffold-free, cultivated skin in A4-sized sheets, marking a critical step
toward the large-scale commercialisation of sustainable luxury and
ultra-luxury materials.

 

Key Highlights

●     Advanced Tanning Success: First-of-its-kind tanning achieved in
the UK, using a newly developed process that preserves the high-performance
qualities of traditional leather.

●     Environmental Impact: Tanning was completed without the use of
heavy metals like chromium by employing only plant-derived, sustainable
tanning agents

●     Industry Validation: Professional tanners have confirmed the
material is comparable to traditional leather.

 

A New Category of Luxury Material

The proprietary process developed by LGL has yielded a totally new form of
material. By using tissue engineering to grow scaffold-free skin from the
cellular level, the Company has created a bio-equivalent material that
maintains the most desirable characteristics of traditional leather -
including its natural strength, versatility, distinct smell, and breathability
- while developing a unique patina over time.

 

Crucially, this "Elemental" leather series bypasses the most challenging
aspects of traditional leather production. By cultivating only the required
dermis and to a specific shape and size, LGL eliminates the need for animal
rearing (and its associated land and water use) whilst providing a near
zero-waste leather product  (minimising the 30% currently lost to trimming).
Furthermore, the cultivated skin arrives at the tanning stage without the hair
or fats present on raw hides, allowing eliminating the beamhouse processes
required for traditional leather. This significantly reduces the cost as well
as the chemical and environmental footprint of leather-making.

 

No Chromium

Importantly, only vegetable tanning components were used, removing the need
for using toxic heavy metals. Despite chromium-based leather tanning creating
significant environmental concerns, this metal is still used in approximately
90% of global leather production, resulting in hazardous wastewater that
contaminates groundwater and aquatic systems.

 

UK Tanning Success and Collaboration

The tanning of these A4 sheets was successfully completed in the United
Kingdom. In a departure from historical industry norms, where similar
"behind-closed-doors" tanning was often conducted by in-house luxury fashion
teams, LGL worked under a collaborative agreement with seasoned master
tanners.

 

This open-innovation approach allowed for real-time adjustments and expert
feedback, resulting in a finish that industry professionals believe is
comparable to specific forms of traditional leather. Samples of these A4
sheets are to be shared with a leading global fashion house under a previously
established agreement for evaluation and prototype development.

 

 

 

 

Dr Emily Telford, Principal Scientist at Lab-Grown Leather

 

 

Elemental Leather form

The newly tanned material has a pronounced pebble grain highlighting the
natural structures, with deckled or "live" edges showing the raw fibers of the
cultivated skin. It possesses a matte finish, made possible by not being
coated with heavy pigments or plastics, and consequently allowing the leather
to develop a rich patina over time.

 

The material has medium-firm temper due in part to the use of vegetable
tannins and has a noticeable "spring-back" when bent, thus being well suited
to make wallets, satchels, and high-end cases that need to maintain a crisp,
professional silhouette.

 

In the touch, the material has a high "dry-grip" texture, with a dense,
fibrous core that feels substantial in the hand, similar to what high-quality
hides typically provide.

 

Being vegetable-tanned, it provides the cultivated leather with strong
eco-friendly credentials whilst retaining extreme durability.

 

Forthcoming T-Rex Leather™ Showcase and Unveiling

In addition to the progress with increased sample sizes and scalable process,
the Company is pleased to confirm the upcoming T-Rex Leather™ showcase and
unveiling taking place in Amsterdam on April 2nd.

 

In partnership with VML and The Orgainoid Company, LGL will reveal the world's
first consumer ultra-luxury item crafted from T-Rex Leather(TM). This
material, engineered using fossilized Tyrannosaurus Rex collagen as a genetic
blueprint, will demonstrate the power of LGL's platform to create "extinct
luxury" materials that are ethically produced and entirely unique to the
market.

 

 

Che Connon, CEO of BSF Enterprise, commented:

"The successful tanning of A4-sized sheets in the UK is the 'proof of concept'
the industry has been waiting for. We have shown that we can preserve the soul
of leather-the smell, the feel, the durability-while removing the ethical and
environmental baggage. Elemental(TM) is not a compromise but a technological
upgrade. Working collaboratively with tanners has accelerated our progress
significantly, and we look forward to revealing the fruits of this labour in
Amsterdam and with our fashion house partners."

END

 

Engage with the BSF Enterprise management team directly by asking questions,
watching video

summaries and seeing what other shareholders have to say. Navigate to our
Interactive Investor

website here:

 

https://bsfenterprise.com/link/eWanpP (https://bsfenterprise.com/link/eWanpP)

 

For further enquiries, please visit www.bsfenterprise.com
(http://www.bsfenterprise.com) or contact:

 

 BSF Enterprise PLC                                                           https://bsfenterprise.com/s/a1f22b (https://bsfenterprise.com/s/a1f22b)

 Geoff Baker - Chairman

 Che Connon - CEO & Director

 We encourage all investors to share questions on this announcement via our
 investor website.
 Shard Capital (Broker)

 Damon Heath                                                                  0207 186 9000

 Isabella Pierre                                                              0207 186 9927
 AlbR Capital Limited (Broker)                                                +44 (0)20 7469 0930

 Colin Rowbury

 Jon Belliss
 ISIN of the Ordinary Shares

 is GB00BHNBDQ51.

 SEDOL Code is BHNBDQ5.

 

 

Subscribe to our news alert service: https://bsfenterprise.com/s/bb9f43
(https://bsfenterprise.com/s/bb9f43)

 

About BSF Enterprise PLC

BSF Enterprise PLC (LSE:BSFA) develops and commercialises cutting-edge
tissue-engineered solutions, including lab-grown leather (via LGL), cultivated
meat, and corneal repair technologies. By leveraging its proprietary
scaffold-free ATEP™ platform, BSF delivers sustainable, high-performance
alternatives to conventional materials, targeting global markets where
provenance, ethics, and performance are increasingly prized by consumers and
brands alike.

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