Organic waste treatment and renewable energy producter Agrivert has accepted an offer from Severn Trent Green Power (STGP), a subsidiary of Severn Trent plc, to acquire its UK operational assets and associated support functions for £120m.
The purchase includes five of the UK’s top performing food waste Anaerobic Digestion plants and a further five composting facilities. This Agrivert infrastructure provides food and garden waste recycling for over 40 municipal authorities, processing over 300,000 tonnes of organic waste a year and producing over 12.9 MW/hr of renewable energy.
Agrivert was founded by Alexander Maddan in 1994 and has grown to become one of the most respected and successful organic waste and renewable energy operators in the sector. “STGP is the logical owner to take Agrivert’s operational business forward in a market where consolidation is now inevitable”, says Alexander Maddan.
“STGP is the logical owner to take Agrivert’s operational business forward in a market where consolidation is now inevitable”
“They are already experienced owners and operators of Food Waste AD plants (two of which were built by Agrivert) and they have a clear strategic need for renewable energy that makes them an owner with a long-term vision.
“This will mean ongoing investment, security and stability for our staff and customers. We are confident that the enlarged STGP group will continue to provide an excellent service for our customers and agricultural partners.”
The sale to STGP excludes Agrivert’s engineering business which designs, builds and enhances organic waste treatment facilities. Agrivert’s current senior management team, Alexander Maddan, Harry Waters and Phil Earl, will not move to STGP and will continue to run the engineering business with Engineering Director, Ron McIlwraith.
Agrivert has a long history of supplying the waste and waste water sector with engineering solutions and it will continue offering these services in the UK and, increasingly, abroad; opening up overseas markets has been a key focus in recent years. Without a sizeable UK operation to run, the team will be able to be focus entirely on these services.
Alexander Maddan admitted that the decision to sell to STGP has been a very difficult one. “Agrivert is very much a family and many of the team and customers have been with Agrivert for many years and have become close friends. I am very grateful to them all for their work and support over the past 24 years. However, we know STGP has a similar culture and business ethos to Agrivert and we know our staff and customers will be well looked after.”