The funding packaging includes £5 million of equity capital from the Business Growth Fund (BGF) and a further £5 million debt facility from NatWest.
The company is developing the £11 million recycling facility, located on a seven-acre freehold site in Stanton, Derbyshire, which it claims will be fully in 2017.
IBA, the by-product that is left over after waste is burnt in an incinerator, typically contains materials such as glass, metals and stones which are removed from the furnace, screened and reused for construction purposes where possible.
Johnsons currently handles around 150,000 tonnes of IBA every year, with the new plant likely to increase its capacity to 450,000 tonnes per annum.
Johnsons extracts metals from the IBA and turns the residue into an aggregate suitable for the construction industry. The company says it will operate “one of the most advanced IBA facilities in the world, providing the highest levels of extraction of recyclable materials” when the facility is complete.
Stanton
Steve Johnson, chief executive of Johnsons Aggregates & Recycling said: “The completion of the Stanton facility, which has taken five years of planning and execution, will be a huge milestone for the business. It will significantly increase our processing capacity and efficiency and provide a gold standard for IBA recycling in the UK.
“We could have continued to fund this project without BGF’s financial backing but their ability to provide longer-term support puts us on a great footing as we implement our expansion plans.”
BGF’s chairman, Sir Nigel Rudd, who visited the new facility this week, said: “Commercially, this is a very astute investment. Steve has built a fantastic business with significant growth potential, and he has great determination to deliver that expansion. BGF’s ability to invest without taking control and its long term approach were clearly important factors in his decision to partner with us, and we are delighted to be supporting the company alongside one of BGF’s shareholders, RBS.”
He added: “Johnsons has invested heavily in its infrastructure and operations, particularly with the Stanton site. It is critical that these types of projects continue in the UK and, alongside BGF’s recent investment in RiverRidge Recycling in Northern Ireland, I am pleased that BGF is able to demonstrate its support for the sector. I’m also proud that BGF has invested more than £100 million across over 20 businesses since the Referendum vote, a clear sign of our intention to keep investing in and supporting UK entrepreneurs.”
Founded as an aggregates business in 1999, Johnsons Aggregates & Recycling employs 50 people and secured revenue of £11 million in 2015.
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