Above: Monsal specializes in anaerobic digestion
Monsal, the Mansfield, UK based advanced digestion technology firm that specializes in Waste to Energy (WtE), has secured £14 million of expansion capital from Waste Resources Fund L.P (WRF), managed by FourWinds Capital Management, an investment management firm specializing in natural resources and commodities.
Initially WRF will be investing £4 million in Monsal, taking an equity stake alongside Monsal’s management team and private equity investor, Matrix Private Equity Partners, who backed the original buy-out of the business in 2007. WRF has also committed a further £10 million for projects to be developed by Monsal and WRF.
The funding will be used to support further expansion of Monsal’s core anaerobic digestion solutions business in the UK wastewater industry, and provide infrastructure funding for biogas WtE projects.
The company also plans to recruit, expanding its sales, technical and engineering teams over the next 12 months. The additional £10 million of funding will be used to establish and finance a new business, subject to certain conditions being met. Monsal Energy’s dedicated team will focus on identifying and developing partnerships and funding infrastructure projects in the rapidly growing bio-energy and biogas sector, using anaerobic digestion, a named technology at the heart of the coalition government’s energy strategy.
Aidan Cumiskey, Managing Director of Monsal said: “WRF is one of the few funds that can support the strategic development of Monsal’s core business. This investment is a very significant step forward and gives us a unique business model for the AD market in the UK.”
“We are going to strengthen our wastewater AD credentials through expansion and play a leading role in financing AD infrastructure over the coming years. We are delighted to have such a strong investor group with WRF and Matrix taking a very proactive role in developing the business and AD market.”
Cumiskey believes that the company is ideally situated to fully capitalize on the opportunity to build and operate many of the estimated 200 food waste AD plants expected to be developed by 2020.
Matrix, who backed the management buyout of Monsal in December 2007, has also underlined its support for the company’s growth strategy and will retain its significant minority equity holding.
Monsal Energy's infrastructure projects will principally be built as part of joint ventures (JVs) with a number of the firm’s key strategic partners in the industry, although it will also continue to deliver design and build projects for third parties on a contract basis. The JV development capital will be channelled through an innovative multi-special-purpose vehicle structure on a draw down basis for individual projects.
The WRF investment team was led by FourWinds’ Environment Group members, Lydia Whyatt and Nick de Mestre.
Whyatt, who will now sit on the Monsal’s board of directors, believes that being able to count a number of large water utilities, and some of the largest waste management businesses in the UK among the company’s partners will be a great advantage moving forward. She is also hopeful that the Monsal will be able to enter other fast growing AD markets outside the UK.
Monsal Energy said that it will help create important new AD infrastructure with waste management companies and project developers, providing a comprehensive range of development services, with full EPC wrap capability, fully integrated project finance and operational support.
