Member Article

Biogas plant for North East after £8m financing

A new biogas energy plant is set to make a major contribution to renewable energy production in the North East.

Emerald Biogas has chosen County Durham to locate its anaerobic digestion facility, which will be capable of producing 1.4MW of electricity per annum from food and farm waste.

A corporate finance and tax team from business advisors UNW advised Emerald on the £8m financing deal for the plant, and a team from Ward Hadaway provided legal advice.

Emerald’s directors and shareholders have a solid track record in farming, waste and recycling.

Brothers Antony and Adam Warren already run a successful family-owned animal by-product, food waste collection and recycling business, John Warren (ABP); and Ian Bainbridge owns a diverse farming, land and resources management and plasterboard recycling business called Agricore.

UNW’s advisory team consisted of Neville Bearpark, Mark Simpson, Tim McElwaine and Katy Cheung, while Ward Hadaway’s team was led by Commercial Partner Mark Whitehead alongside Banking and Finance Partners Julie Harrison and Imogen Holland; Construction Partner Ralph Wrighton; Property Partner Hele O’Neill and Associate and Chartered Town Planner David Brocklehurst.

Following two years of preparatory work, construction of the plant will now begin, and Mark Simpson was delighted with the outcome.

He said: “The launch of Emerald Biogas marks the culmination of a great deal of hard work
and cooperation by all those involved. We have been able to draw on our long term relationships with a broad national network of funding providers and government agencies in putting this deal together and we are very pleased with the outcome.

“The key to the success of this project is that the management team’s existing businesses will provide the feedstock needed to run the plant. The result will be a plentiful supply of renewable energy and we hope this will inspire the North East region to move towards greater energy self-sufficiency in the future.”

Emerald Biogas director, Ian Bainbridge, said: “When we started working with UNW we had already managed to attract initial funding from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) but we were still some way short of the total amount required.

“Mark and the UNW team have supported us all the way and their contacts in the financial sector have been invaluable in helping us to conclude the deal successfully especially given the current challenging marketplace. Without them we would still be seeking funding, so to now be in a position to drive the project forward is testament to the commitment and expertise of all involved.

“The AD plant is going to be the first commercial plant of this size in the North East so there are
bound to be a number of challenges awaiting us before we are fully up and running. It has at times been a complex process for all parties and we are grateful to UNW and Ward Hadaway for their excellent project management skills in bringing it all together.”

Mark Whitehead, Partner and Head of Energy at Ward Hadaway, added: “We are delighted to have assisted Emerald Biogas on what is a landmark renewable energy project for the North East.

“This was a complex and multi-faceted project which needed to be carried out within tight timescales.Thanks to our expertise in renewable energy schemes and the fact that we can call on experts from a wide range of different fields, we were able to advise the directors on all the many different aspects to the project and provide a true turnkey service.”

Funding for the deal came from a number of sources, including a term loan from HSBC, RDPE grant from DEFRA and loan through the Anaerobic Digestion Loan Fund from resource efficiency organisation, WRAP; and direct investment from the Emerald Biogas directors.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .

Our Partners