Impax invests £4 million in New Earth Solutions
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Impax Asset Management Ltd ("Impax") has announced it has
invested £4 million into New Earth Solutions Ltd ("New Earth").
This investment will support New Earth's roll out of waste
facilities across the UK.
Impax has made the investment on behalf of two of its funds,
Impax Environmental Markets Plc, the only "pure-play" environmental
investment trust in the FTSE All Share index, and Impax
Environmental Markets (Ireland) its open ended Irish fund. The two
funds combined have assets under management of over £600 million.
Up to 10% of these funds can be invested in private companies,
making Impax one of the UK's largest venture capital investors in
environmental markets. This is Impax's eighth venture capital
investment to date. Other investments include biomass, wave energy,
aluminium recycling, autoclave waste treatment technology and
3-bladed wind turbine manufacturing.
New Earth, a biological waste treatment and resource recovery
company, was established to help local authorities meet their
obligations to divert waste from landfill under the EU landfill
directive. Local authorities now face limitations on the amount of
biodegradable waste which can be disposed of to landfill and
penalty fines for every tonne in excess of that agreed limit will
be strictly imposed.
New Earth has a 50,000 tonne per annum (tpa) waste facility
operating in Canford, Dorset, supported by waste management
contracts with Bournemouth Borough Council and Bristol City
Council. Additionally, a new facility is under construction in Kent
with contracts to receive source segregated organic waste from Kent
and Essex County Councils.
Jonathan Fogg, Investment Manager at Impax said: "New Earth's
technology is proven, effective and efficient. The company has a
significant track record in delivering services to existing clients
and a range of innovative, competitive and flexible packages for
local authority clients looking for viable solutions in waste
treatment and recycling technology".
"As a result of waste management legislation, private equity
interest within the waste and recycling industry is flourishing. We
believe our partnership with New Earth will help create
significantly increased shareholder value".
Peter Gillatt, Managing Director of New Earth said: "We welcome
this investment from Impax. This capital will help us to meet our
core objective to develop six further operational facilities for
local authority clients in the run up to 2009. The pre-IPO equity
injection also helps to lay the foundation for a flotation on AIM
before the end of 2009".
About Impax Asset Management
Impax was founded in 1994 as a specialist finance house focusing
on the markets for cleaner or more efficient delivery of basic
services of energy, water and waste. These markets are expanding
rapidly, as business and political leaders encourage the
development of cleaner products and services in response to the
increasing pressures placed on the environment.
Impax's dedicated team of professionals, with many years of
experience in the financial and environmental sectors, is ideally
placed to understand and take advantage of the investment
opportunities arising from the fast growing environmental markets.
Impax Asset Management manages over £1 billion of assets for
institutional and private investors, across a range of listed and
private equity funds.
For further information please visit: www.impax.co.uk
About New Earth Solutions Ltd
New Earth's technology is fully enclosed with a sophisticated
air handling and treatment system. The technology prevents the
output of the odour emissions or bio-aerosols normally associated
with traditional biological treatment processes.
New Earth processes were researched and developed over a period
of 7 years and according to the Environment Agency's formal
assessment are proven to divert over 80% of biodegradable municipal
waste from landfill, whilst recovering dry recyclables. The
technology is housed in low impact buildings and waste treatment is
deliverable through processes which are acceptable to local
communities.
In 2007 New Earth secured a £50 million finance package from the
public sector owned and full service commercial bank Norddeutsche
Landesbank.
New Earth technology services both municipal and commercial
clients and is working with Asda to deliver the stores first zero
waste to landfill supermarket in the UK.
www.newearthsolutions.co.uk