Waste management company Biffa in £20m acquisition spree

Waste management company Biffa has acquired Weir Waste Services Limited, a provider of waste collection and recycling in the West Midlands.

The deal, announced this morning (August 17), was completed for around £16.2m and funded using existing cash and debt facilities.

Weir generated revenues of £16.1m in the year to May 31 2017, with an EBITDA of £2.2m and operating profit of £1.1m.

It currently has gross assets worth £14.5m and employs around 120 people.

Weir’s operation comprises a commercial collection business serving around 1,600 customers, a frontline fleet of about 45 vehicles and a seven-acre recycling and waste treatment operation on a freehold site in Birmingham.

The firm will become part of Biffa’s industrial and commercial division.

It follows the acquisition of three other waste collection firms, made by Biffa this year and announced today.

Totalling £3.9m and adding revenues of around £4.9m to Biffa’s books, the acquisitions are: the trade and assets of Cornwall-based H&A Recycling Limited (subject to certain conditions being met); the trade and assets of Scottish firm Bisset Waste Management Limited; and certain trade and assets of East London’s Vecta Group Limited.

Biffa’s chief financial officer and CEO designate, Michael Topham, said: “The acquisitions we have announced today demonstrate our ongoing ability to identify and execute value accretive acquisitions across the UK.

“The Weir Waste business significantly strengthens our presence and customer offer in Birmingham and the Midlands while the other acquisitions further enhance our platform in their respective markets.”

He added: “We welcome the staff and customers of these businesses to Biffa.”

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