The Group conducted its first successful transaction with Greenway Environmental Ltd, which bought Augeans site and assets based at Hinkley in Leicestershire for 400,000.
The firm has also completed a second transaction with Cleansing Services Group Ltd which purchased businesses based at Rochdale and Worcester for 800,000.
The total value received from the Waste Network, which ceased to operate on January 2 this year, now stands at 1.2 million before project costs of 100,000 less than the carrying value of the relevant assets and goodwill held by the Group on December 31 2013.
This will result in exceptional impairment charges of 4 million, which will be included in the Group’s Results for 2013.
Commenting on the transactions, Dr Stewart Davies, chief executive of Augean, said: “The sale and closure of the former Waste Network division represents a significant change in the structure and focus of the Augean Group.
The disposal is consistent with our ambition to grow the Group’s activities in waste markets offering enhanced margins and more secure revenue streams.”
Trading
Meanwhile, the remaining businesses of the Waste Network division have continued to trade during the first quarter of 2014 whilst the sale process has continued.
On January 2, the Group decided to retain certain assets from the Waste Network to establish new business Augean Integrated Services (AIS), a hazardous waste disposal consultancy based in Cannock which is initially supporting a small number of clients requiring total waste management services (see letsrecycle.com story).
The Waste Network was earmarked for closure in the firms six-month interim financial results in September, after it was found to be operating at a loss of 1.1 million.
Augean cited the failure of its East Kent Waste Recovery Facility for the loss, which had suffered a series of mechanical failures across its solid handling systems. At the time, Dr Davies also blamed challenging conditions and little growth within the hazardous waste market (see letsrecycle.com story).
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An investment in other company assets, as well as an anticipated delay in receiving proceeds from the sale of Waste Network division, resulted in a net debt at the end of last trading period rising to an estimated 8.5 million which is expected to decline over the course of 2014.
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