AmeyCespa acquires Donarbon for 48.6 million

Spanish-owned waste company AmeyCespa has today (September 1) announced the acquisition of the company responsible for delivering Cambridgeshire county council's PFI waste contract, Donarbon, for £48.6 million.

The purchase of 100% equity in the Donarbon Group gives AmeyCespa its first actual on-the-ground foothold in the UK waste sector, in addition to its existing preferred bidder status for the North Yorkshire county council and City of York council residual waste PFI deal and its position as one of the final two bidders for Norfolk county council's waste PFI contract.

The company is a joint venture between services firm Amey and waste company Cespa, both of which are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Spanish company Ferrovial. Ferrovial said the acquisition of Donarbon would add £480 million to the value of its future contracted work, or backlog.

Waterbeach-based Donarbon signed a 28-year, £730 million contract to deliver Cambridgeshire county council's PFI-funded waste contract in April 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story) and its facilities in the county include a mechanical biological treatment plant, which opened in November 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story), as well as a 4.5 million cubic metres capacity landfill.

It also runs two transfer stations, nine household waste recycling centres and runs other industrial and commercial services in the region.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Davenport, a director at Donarbon who will now transfer to AmeyCespa to run the business, said: “AmeyCespa will bring a wealth of waste management experience and best practice to Cambridgeshire.

“I look forward to working with everyone at AmeyCespa, as it's not only excellent news for the development of our employees but for the region as a whole.”

Ferrovial

The significance of the purchase for Ferrovial was highlighted by the parent company's chief executive, Santiago Olivares, who said: “The Donarbon acquisition is strategic for Ferrovial Servicios, since it enhances Ferrovial's end-to-end offering for local authorities in the UK and is a clear example of the synergy between group subsidiaries in offering comprehensive value-added services to our clients.”

His sentiments were echoed by Amey's chief executive, Mel Ewell, who added: “The acquisition further strengthens our commitment to the UK's waste sector and the Eastern region.”

AmeyCespa is expected to find out in October 2010 whether it has beaten the other remaining bidder, a consortium between Cory Environmental and Wheelabrator, to be named preferred bidder for Norfolk's waste PFI deal (see letsrecycle.com story).

And, after being named as preferred bidder for the North Yorkshire and City of York waste PFI contract in June 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story), the company is now moving forward with its proposals to build a waste sorting and treatment facility, ‘Allerton Waste Recovery Park', to deliver the contract.

Cambridgeshire county council

Today's news was welcomed by Cambridgeshire county councillor Tony Orgee, cabinet member for the Economy and the Environment, who: “In Cambridgeshire, we have invested millions of pounds to provide better facilities to reduce, re-use and recycle our rubbish as part of our commitment to reducing our impact on climate change and getting value for money for our taxpayers.

“Our work with the Dickerson Group and particularly Donarbon will continue through this purchase and will allow Cambridgeshire to continue to lead the country in using technology and with the County's population expected to grow by 100,000 by 2021, we need to stay ahead in dealing with our waste,” he added.