Waste management company Beauparc has purchased the biomass power station operated Tyrone Energy for an undisclosed sum, its sixth acquisition in the past 12 months following its takeovers of Acumen Waste Services, B&M Waste, Exomex, Kollect and JWS.
Tyrone Energy’s existing senior management team will remain within the business, and general manager Andy Luke will work alongside Beauparc’s management team to further develop opportunities in generating energy from waste.
Beauparc, which operates the Greenstar, Panda and Panda Energy brands, said the Tyrone Energy power station is Ireland's first large-scale 'wood to energy' plant, processing 25,000 tonnes waste wood destined for landfill as biomass fuel annually.
The site processes wood from a number of sources in the UK and Ireland and can generate 2.1MW of electricity per year. The station, which commenced commercial operations in 2012, has been designed to meet European emissions targets.
The site claims to save 7,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year compared to a similarly-sized fossil fuel power station, and it employs 11 full-time workers.
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Beauparc now operates 54 facilities in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands, delivering domestic and commercial waste management, recycling collection and processing, logistics, green fuels, energy recovery and renewable energy supply solutions.
Eamon Waters, founder of waste collection business Beauparc Utilities, sold the business to private equity giant Macquarie Asset Management in June 2021.
Waters owned a 62.4% stake in the venture after bringing Blackstone, another PE giant, on board in March 2019.
Beauparc is best known for its refuse collection activities. Nationally, the company’s share of the bin collection market is estimated at c.20%, with a reported profit margin on this activity of 35%.
In recent years Beauparc has branched into power supply, leveraging off its huge customer base.
Turnover for Beauparc Utilities in 2020 was €530m, with 74% of revenue coming from waste management, 17% from the utility arm, and 9% from sale of recycled goods. The geographic spread was Ireland 66% of turnover, the UK 31%, and 3% in the Netherlands.
Beauparc’s operating profit in 2020 was €50m, and net cash inflow from operations was €95m. That would underpin a reported €1.3bn valuation of the business when Macquarie swooped.
Beauparc had total liabilities of €440m at the end of 2020 and net worth of €38m, so guesstimates of Waters’ gross from the deal range from €400m to €500m.
"Tyrone Energy fits our appetite for innovative sustainable energy projects that contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy," said Brian McCabe, CEO of Beauparc.
"Its energy from waste station provides an essential outlet for waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill, converting it into sustainable electricity. The business has a proven record of excellence, and we look forward to working with its current team.”
Tyrone Energy was controlled by Key Capital in Dublin, led by Conor Killeen, a former owner of the Business Post newspaper.
(Pic: Shutterstock)
