Viridor Waste Management Limited, a subsidiary of Pennon Group Plc, has announced that it has acquired Pulp Friction Limited – a paper collection and processing business based in Erith, Kent – and the ‘business, assets and goodwill’ of a related business, SBS Paper LLP, for a total of £9 million.
Pulp Friction, which was founded in 1995 and currently employs 40 people, processes around 100,000 tonnes of paper and card per annum and has recycling depots in Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Worcester.
Waste paper sorting company, SBS paper LLP – established in Erith, Kent in 2009 – employs 60 people at its three-acre site and sorts and bales over 62,000 tonnes of paper a year.
Both companies were bought for a total of £9 million (£8.6 million in cash and £400,000 in net debt), and will now become integrated into Viridor’s south-eastern regional operations and will trade as Viridor.
There are no immediate plans to make any changes to personnel, Viridor has told Resource.
Commenting on the acquisition, Colin Drummond, Chief Executive of Viridor, said: "The acquisition of this paper collection and processing business is in line with the group's strategy of expanding its waste management activities, particularly in collection and recycling. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in its first full year of operation."
Graham Warren, South East Regional Director, added: “This operation has built an excellent track record over recent years in producing high-quality grades of paper and cardboard which are essential for the making of new products and packaging from secondary materials.”
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