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21 Dec 2009 14:48
Press Release
21 December 2009
Ludgate Environmental Fund leads €8.1m investment into innovative electronic waste recycler Terra Nova
Ludgate Environmental Fund ("LEF") has led a total €8.1 million funding round into Terra Nova SAS ("Terra Nova") with an investment of €3.0 million
Terra Nova is constructing and operate a pre-treatment and recycling plant for printed circuit boards in Northern France
New facility will help meet the requirements of the European Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, easing the pressure to export harmful waste to the developing world
LEF's investment of €3.0 million into preferred shares, representing a 25% shareholding in the business, led a consortium of investors that includes Aurinvest (€2.5m), the Lewis Group (€1.3m), BNP Private Equity (€0.8m) and Finorpa (€0.5m). The funds will be used by Terra Nova to construct a printed circuit board treatment and recycling plant at Isbergues in Northern France.
Terra Nova has been awarded their Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control ("IPPC") consent. Plant construction has already commenced and it is expected to be operational by Q1 2011. Terra Nova's experienced team has proprietary know-how and established key relationships with both suppliers of printed circuit boards and end customers. Terra Nova has already commenced discussions for production volumes greater than the capacity of the plant.
Terra Nova was established in 2006 by Christian Thomas and Michel Trabuc, with seed funding from March Capital, an Irish industrial investor. Terra Nova's team of knowledgeable professionals from the metals sector is looking to address the growing regulatory requirement to recycle electronic waste and reduce the current flow to the developing world. Terra Nova's process will provide a safe method of treatment and minimize the environmental impact.
Nick Pople, Director of Ludgate Investments Limited, Investment Adviser to the Ludgate Environmental Fund, commented: "We are delighted to be investing in an important area of waste treatment that is addressing the growing concern of how to safely recycle printed circuit boards and diminish their environmental impact. This will also help address the current problem of electronic waste being exported to the developing world where they are often recycled in a dangerous and environmentally-damaging manner."
John Shakeshaft, Chairman of LEF, added: "With the implementation of the WEEE Directive alongside the company's technology and established relationships, we see there is an exciting market for Terra Nova to address. We look forward to working actively with the investment consortium and the company's experienced management team to encourage the growth of the business."
Christian Thomas, President of Terra Nova, said: "I'm delighted to announce the closing of our fundraising led by Ludgate Environmental Fund. The Ludgate investment team is highly respected in the cleantech sector and will add significant value as we build our electronic waste processing facility and expand."
Media Enquiries:
Ludgate Investments Limited: Nigel Meir
nmeir@ludgate.com
+44 20 7621 5770
Website: www.ludgateenvironmental.com
Terra Nova: Michel Trabuc
michel.trabuc@tnmetal.fr
+33 (6) 87 86 77 83
Ludgate Environmental Fund: John Shakeshaft, Chairman
+44 (0)20 7591 4800
NOMAD: Melville Trimble - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
+44(0)20 7213 8898
Broker: Paul Fincham, Matrix Corporate Capital LLP
+44 (0)20 3206 7175
Notes to Editors
About Terra Nova:
Terra Nova is a French company established to develop, construct and operate a printed circuit board treatment and recycling business. The team behind Terra Nova have worked together in the metals industry for a number of years at Metaleurop, a quoted lead, zinc and precious metal processor. The company has commenced construction of a 30,000 tonnes per annum pyrolysis plant to pre-treat printed circuit boards for the major metal smelters. Terra Nova is located within the Arcelor-Mittal industrial site at Isbergues (Pas-de-Calais), France.
About Ludgate Environmental Fund:
Ludgate Environmental Fund Limited is a Jersey domiciled closed-ended investment company listed on AIM in August 2007. Further fundraisings completed in March and November 2008 have seen assets increase to just over £50 million.
Applying an active corporate management approach, Ludgate Environmental Fund invests growth capital into environmental/cleantech companies. The underlying drivers in this sector are strong: increasing strains on natural resources; rising concerns over waste and pollution; increasing public support; and maturing environmental technologies. Focus areas of the Fund include alternative energy; waste management and resource recovery; energy efficiency; water management; industrial process advances and emission reduction technologies.
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