Glazewing acquires Metal Contract Services

The deal represents the latest a long line of acquisitions overseen by the Miles brothers who were responsible for building up recycling businesses including Verdant and Polkacrest, before selling them on.

The pair bought Glazewing which collects metals, paper and other materials for trade and commercial clients – for an undisclosed amount through Valens Resources Group Plc in August 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story) with plans to grow the firm into a significant independent firm covering the South of the UK.

Metal Contract Services is the latest firm to be incorporated into the Glazewing portfolio, after it acquired Singh (UK) Ltd, in January 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Coverage

Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Jon Miles said that the addition of MCS, which has a turnover close to 750,000, helps to grow Glazewings coverage in the metals market in East Anglia.
He said: The scrap metal industry is going through a lot of change at the moment with the cashless system and there is also a lot of work to be done on health and safety so this is a longer term proposition but we think that we are well placed to react to the changes despite it being a difficult market at the moment.

MCS customer base matches the right sort of customers for our strategic growth as they are regional metal producers who need a fast reactive service and that is something that we specialise in.

Phillip Wright has also joined Glazewing as managing director with responsibility for all group operations with immediate effect. Mr Wright has substantial experience within the scrap industry having worked for fridge recycler ESS Recycling UK.

Commenting on the purchase of MCS, he said: The acquisition of MCS is strategically important for Glazewing as it strengthens our contracted metal purchasing base and positions us for future growth opportunities.

The Miles brothers’ successful track record in the waste management arena has included buying and developing the Polkacrest healthcare waste management company which is now owned by SITA UK.

The pair also bought the Ecovert waste business in 2002 when it had nine municipal contracts, a 9 million turnover and 250 staff. They transformed the business into Verdant Group Plc which, when they sold it to Greenstar in November 2007, had over 20 local authority contracts, 1,200 staff and an annual turnover of 50 million.