One51 set to acquire British waste firm

Renewables and waste-focused investment firm, One51 is expected to conclude a deal to acquire British waste management firm Straight plc in the coming weeks.

Dublin-based One51 made an initial approach to the Leeds-based/ AIM-listed waste and recycling solutions provider in February.

While an offer deadline has been extended twice (first to April 11 and then to April 25) it is understood that the parties are close to agreeing a deal.

It is not known how much One51 is paying, but the move is significant in that it marks the company’s first acquisition in nearly five years and illustrates its re-emergence from a two-year operational and financial turnaround period, which has seen the business return to profitability and dispose of most of its non-core assets.

It has been reported that the group is looking to raise €20m to fund an acquisition-led growth strategy, but the final acquisition fund figure is likely to be greater than that.

One51’s 2013 accounts, formally published this week, show it generated a post-tax profit of just over €7.1m last year — a turnaround from a loss of €116,000 in 2012 and the first profit seen since 2006.

Furthermore, at €40.3m, the group’s net debt levels reached their lowest levels for seven years. Chief executive Alan Walsh said the group’s financial recovery puts it “in a position to focus on growth and increasing shareholder value”.

Since the start of this year, One51 has also agreed a four-year €75m bank facility with one of its chief lenders. The takeover of Straight — named after its CEO and former British entrepreneur of the year, Jonathan Straight — will make One51 the clear leader in the recycling bin sector in Britain.