Riverridge recycling secures £10m equity investment

Leading waste management firm Riverridge Recycling is poised for growth after becoming only the second company in the province to secure a major equity investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF).
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Sep 2016, 18:36 BST
Updated 4th Oct 2016, 13:49 BST
RiverRidge Recycling MD Brett Ross, right, with Paddy Graham from BGF, left and Dale Guest, director of corporate banking at Bank of Ireland NI at the firms Belfast depotRiverRidge Recycling MD Brett Ross, right, with Paddy Graham from BGF, left and Dale Guest, director of corporate banking at Bank of Ireland NI at the firms Belfast depot
RiverRidge Recycling MD Brett Ross, right, with Paddy Graham from BGF, left and Dale Guest, director of corporate banking at Bank of Ireland NI at the firms Belfast depot

Acquired as a small skip hire and landfill site in 2011, RiverRidge is now the largest independent waste management operator in Northern Ireland, treating over 400,000mt of waste each year on behalf of local authorities, commercial businesses and individual households.

Led by managing director Brett Ross it has more than 200 staff working from premises in Belfast, Coleraine, Londonderry and Portadown.

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It was the primary developer of the Full Circle Generation Energy from Waste facility at Bombardier’s wing facility in Belfast. The £107m project which is nearing completion, was co-financed by Green Investment Bank, Equitix and P3P Partners.

BGF’s £10m investment will be used to support the company’s continued growth strategy as well as to further develop the group’s existing treatment and operations infrastructure. RiverRidge also confirmed it has secured a new funding package from Bank of Ireland to further support growth.

Following the deal, Jim Meredith, current chairman of Augean Plc, one of the UK’s leading specialist hazardous waste management businesses, and former CEO of Waste Recycling Group has co-invested alongside BGF and has been appointed non-exec chairman.

Paddy Graham, an investor at BGF, will also join the board of the company.

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BGF was set up in 2011 to provide a new type of funding option for SMEs as an alternative to bank debt.

Unlike traditional private equity funding, BGF makes long-term investments and holds non-controlling stakes in the companies it supports.

“As a company we have worked tremendously hard over the past five years to allow us to become the market leader in Northern Ireland,” said Mr Ross.

“It is therefore a significant endorsement of this effort to be able to announce the investment by BGF into our Group.

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“We are looking forward to further growing the RiverRidge Group in the coming years and believe we have found partners, in both BGF and Bank of Ireland, who not only are best placed to support this progression, but also understand the strategy thoroughly.”

Paddy Graham from BGF said: “We are delighted to be providing a funding package alongside Bank of Ireland that will help Brett and his team at RiverRidge to confidently move forward with their company.

Dale Guest of Bank of Ireland said the firm was strong and ambitious. “We are proud to support the RiverRidge Group and, alongside the BGF, look forward to continuing our close partnership and supporting the business to achieve its goals. “

Related topics:Northern Ireland