Causeway Capital has stumped up €4m to back the management buyout of Turmec Teoranta, which specialises in designing, manufacturing and installing recycling plants.

Established in 1972, Turmec is headquartered in the Gaeltacht at Athboy in Co. Meath. The firm provides end-to-end designs and construction of waste separation and processing systems.

The business serves a blue-chip customer base of corporates and semi-state agencies, including Thorntons, Bord na Mona, AES and Powerday. The bulk of its business is carried out in Ireland and the UK, but Turmec is also expanding further afield.

In the year to June 2017, Turmec recorded turnover of nearly €17m, down from €19m the year before. Net profit was €1.1m, up 50% on the previous year.

Turmec had net worth of €6m in 2017, with cash of €4.1m and a staff complement of 74. The company’s directors are Joe Coffey, Paraic Griffin, John Connor and Brian Thornton.

In Association with

Holding company Jinkal Ltd is owned by Coffey. The Turmec MBO is being led by Thornton (managing director) and Coffey will remain involved in the business. Niall Fay, general manager and director in Grant Engineering, will join Turmec’s board as non-executive chairman.

Causeway Capital’s Pierce Casey and Connor Reid will also join the Turmec board. Turmec is the fifth SME Causeway Capital has backed since its launch in 2015, with over 50% of its €50m fund now deployed.

Matt Scaife, partner at Causeway Capital, commented: “Turmec has built an enviable reputation as a leader in a growing industry and is well established as an important local employer in Co. Meath. We are looking forward to working with the team as the business expands both in the UK and Ireland, as well as further afield.” .

Turmec director Brian Thornton said: “Turmec chose to partner with a like-minded investor in Causeway that not only has a strong record of supporting SMEs to grow but is able to bring additional non-executive expertise on board, which was important to us.”

Turmec was advised by John Bowe at Mazars Corporate Finance.