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Renewable solutions to benefit after waste management acquisition
New ways to improve how industrial waste can be recycled or turned into renewable energy are to be investigated following a major acquisition in the north’s waste collection and treatment sector. Cash is to be put into further research on waste treatment by York-based E Harper Ltd – also known as Harpers Waste Management – following its acquisition of UK Resource Management (UKRM), Middlesbrough, in a multi-million pound deal. |
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The acquisition of UKRM by Harpers Waste Management, Sutton-on Forest, for a substantial but undisclosed sum creates a broad-based waste management and treatment business operating nationally with more than 110 staff and a £12m turnover.
The deal was advised by accountants and business advisers, JWPCreers, led by corporate finance partner, Tony Farmer, which carried out the project management and arranged finance through Yorkshire Bank’s North Yorkshire Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) and Alistair Scott Summers from commercial law firm Dickinson Dees. All the professional team is based in York.
The deal gives Harpers an additional North East presence at Bolckow Industrial Estate, Middlesbrough, to operate alongside its existing base in Billingham, and the ability to directly provide specialist waste treatment services which it previously had to outsource.
No job losses result from the deal. UKRM will keep its existing trading name and commercial director Phil Rodgers and operations director, Andy Welford, join the board of the enlarged business. Two other directors, brothers John and Robert Jones, have left on completion.
Harpers chairman, Nick Harper, says: “This is good for news both businesses, the joint staff and our customers who will benefit from cost efficiencies created by economies of scale.
“Acquiring UKRM enables us to directly carry out specialist waste treatment, disposal and recycling which we previously provided as a third-party service which added to our operational costs. This includes the collection and recycling of materials from vehicle workshops, such as the washing and return of oily hand wipes, and we will be seeking to develop these, and other, services which have vital environmental benefits.
“The professional team at JWPCreers, Dickinson Dees and Yorkshire Bank North Yorkshire Financial Solutions Centre all worked hard to ensure a successful outcome for us.”
Harpers, which has more than 80 staff and an £8.0m turnover, has a 65-strong fleet of trucks and provides services including high-pressure water jetting, air-conveying for powder and sludge collection and also has mobile sludge de-watering units and high-performance, high-tipping vacuum tankers.
UKRM, which was founded in Middlesbrough in 2000 and has 26 staff and a £3.5m turnover, operates nationally for blue-chip manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceutical and chemical businesses and has been at the forefront of waste treatment for renewable energy and recycling as an alternative to landfill or incineration.
Commercial director, Phil Rodgers, says: “This is a joining of complementary businesses which can support each other, our joint customers and the wider market. Harpers has major infrastructure and long-standing expertise. We add specialist services in waste treatment and recycling. All our team is looking forward to the challenge.”
Head of the corporate finance department at JWPCreers, Tony Farmer, a partner says: “This is an exciting acquisition in this sector with significant operational benefits for both businesses and their clients and shows that, where the fundamentals are strong, significant deals can be completed in the current climate.”
Head of the Yorkshire Office of Dickinson Dees, Philip Ashworth, says; “This acquisition shows the strength of our corporate team in Yorkshire and reinforces our commitment to the waste and renewable sector as evidenced by the creation of our new Waste Team led by Dean Larder."
To find out more about how we can help you, please contact JWPCreers LLP in Selby and York.
