FCC agrees acquisition of Urbaser’s UK business

The deal, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024, will see all of Urbaser’s UK contracts and waste facilities transfer to FCC Environment. 

This includes facilities of composting, material recovery, waste to energy, final disposal and household recycling centres. It also provides waste collection, recycling centre management, street cleansing.

Urbaser, which operates in around 25 countries, was acquired by Platinum Equity in 2021 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Facilities

Urbaser’s UK portfolio of facilities include a 105,000 tonnes per year capacity MRF in Worcestershire and the 200,000 tonne Javelin Park energy from waste facility.

Also, Urbaser counts the EnviRecover EfW in Hartlebury, Worcestershire, which has the capacity to receive and treat up to 200,000 tonnes of residual black bag waste per year. This has been built as part of the 25 year integrated waste management PFI contract with Worcestershire county council and Herefordshire council.

It also runs seven household recycling centres across Worcestershire and Herefordshire handle in the region of 100,000 to 120,000 tonnes per annum of mixed waste and recyclables

It also runs the Hill and Moor composting site near Pershore, Worcestershire, which has the capacity to receive and compost over 25,000 tonnes of garden waste per year and various landfill sites.

Urbaser also acquired Biowise last year (see letsrecycle.com story).

Contracts

Urbaser currently holds a number of large contracts with councils in the UK. Last year, it acquired six contracts from Amey, with a portfolio value of over £30 million a year.

The current contracts include services for  Solihull metropolitan borough,  Gloucester city, Selby district and Eden district council.

Urbaser also won a £90 million collections contract with Havering in 2023 (see letsrecycle.com story).

FCC

FCC has been present in the British market since 1989 through its affiliate FCC Environment UK and is one of the top five waste management local operators.

The acquisition of Urbaser’s UK business will enable it to “expand its product and service offering and enhance the value proposal for its customers,” the company said. 

Steve Longdon, FCC Environment UK chief executive, said: “As one of the UK’s leading resource and waste management companies, this is a very positive move for our business here in the UK strengthening our core services yet further. We are looking forward to welcoming the Urbaser team and to continuing to deliver exceptional services both to our existing and to our new clients”.

Santander Corporate & Investment Bank acts as financial advisor to FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente in the transaction and Linklaters is acting as legal advisor.