Viridor increases foothold in North West market

Waste management firm Viridor has further increased its foothold in the North West waste management market with the purchase of Bury-based Swinnerton Environmental Limited for £1.8 million.

The purchase of Swinnerton announced today (January 14) comes hot-on-the-heels of the acquisition of another Bury-based company, Adapt Recycling, which Viridor swooped for to add to its portfolio of waste and recycling firms at the end of December 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story).

And, it is understood that the Swinnerton purchase will be the first of several Viridor plans to make in 2011, with the company believed to have a ‘war chest' of as much as £100 million to spend on new acquisitions as it bids to increase its share of UK materials for recycling.

Viridor said that the acquisition of Swinnerton, which primarily processes paper and plastics for recycling, was in-line with the strategy of its parent company Pennon Group – which is seeking to increase its offering in the arena of waste management, recycling and disposal.

Swinnerton has been in operation for around 60 years and currently employs 30 people to handle around 30,000 tonnes of material per year.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Burrows Smith, director of Viridor North said: “In recent months Viridor has shown its commitment to becoming the leading recycler in the Greater Manchester region.
“The acquisition of Swinnerton Environmental Limited, alongside the acquisition of Adapt Recycling in December will build upon our existing operations in the region, expanding our business in the key recycling areas.”

Gordon Swinnerton, managing director of Swinnerton Environmental, said: “I am delighted that Viridor have been able to secure the acquisition of Swinnerton's. This is good news for employees, customers, suppliers and all other stakeholders in the business, and will allow the business to develop. I look forward to working with my new colleagues.”

Swinnerton will be incorporated into Viridor's commercial waste operations within the Manchester area and operate within the company's Northern region.

Purchases

The Taunton-based firm pursued a series of acquisitions throughout 2010, which included the purchases of the physical assets and operational business of paper recycler Reconomy (see letsrecycle.com story) and family-owned Pearsons Group (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Burrows Smith added: “The ever-increasing levels of recycling and landfill diversion being demanded within the UK's waste strategies mean that investment in key recycling operations is crucial. I look forward to welcoming our new colleagues and working together to deliver high quality recycling services to customers across the region.”