Capital fund acquires UK scrap firm

United Kingdom scrap processing firm Peterborough Metals Recycling (PMR), which also has traded under the name BW Riddle during its nearly 70-year existence, has been acquired by a consortium of U.K.-based interests that includes current Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) president Tom Bird.

PMR’s new owner is Derbyshire, U.K.-based KJB Global Consulting, which was backed by Bird and London-based Harwood Private Capital in the transaction.

The new ownership group says the “combination of a leading metals broker with an established metals recycling operator creates a vertically integrated environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused, metal recycling business of scale, resulting in an ideal platform for future acquisitions.”

The acquired recycling facilities have about 70 employees and annual sales of around $98 million, according to a press release issued by U.K.-based Lexington Corporate Finance. The deal involves the retention of all existing PMR staff with plans to create additional jobs as part of its growth plans, according to Lexington.

The Lexington announcement describes the deal as being facilitated by Tom Bird, who will take a commercial interest and active role with the newly acquired organization. Bird, in addition to being the BIR president, is a former managing director of Scholz Recycling and Chiho Environmental Group, a Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company with operations in Germany and several other nations.

Bird’s other previous roles include managing director of Sims UK and Van Dalen UK. Lexington says it worked along with Bird to identify private equity firm Harwood Private Capital as a fellow stakeholder in PMR and BW Riddle.

KJB Global Consulting, which is owned by James Bowers and has been involved with foundries, industrial plants, mining and metals companies in Europe, advises owners and management teams on growth and risk management strategies. The company also shipped more than 500,000 metric tons of scrap metal on its own chartered vessels in 2022. Following the integration of PMR into its business, KJB now has the ability to process more than 100,000 tons of inbound material each year.

“The acquisition of PMR is the next key step towards an ambitious growth plan for KJB,” says Bowers. “Having someone with the experience of Tom Bird, an industry veteran with over 30 years in the metal recycling sector, investing and taking an active role in the business is fantastic. Bringing private equity investment into the equation allows for an unrivaled and aggressive buy-and-build strategy. PMR will be the first of many acquisitions and we are already working on number two.”

Bowers continues, “PMR has a long heritage and is widely known across the U.K. metal recycling market with an excellent reputation. As a business it also is an established processor of secondary metals with a state-of-the-art infrastructure, allowing KJB to move from solely being a ‘trader’ to operating physical processing sites. We are excited about the merger of these two strong businesses, incorporating the outstanding and experienced PMR staff with the existing KJB team. It is going to be an exciting period in the company’s history.”

Jonathan Wheeler, who led the deal for Harwood Private Capital, remarks, “The combination of a leading metals broker with an established metals recycling operator creates a vertically integrated platform from which to create an ESG-focused, metal recycling business of scale.”