URBASER CONTINUES UK GROWTH WITH ACQUISITION

Cheltenham-based environmental services company Urbaser has acquired Biowise, a resource management service provider in the North of England.

The acquisition supports Urbaser’s expansion of its portfolio of waste treatment and commercial services within the region, building on the acquisition of five waste management contracts in 2021.

Biowise operates three organic waste treatment facilities (any biodegradable material that comes from either a plant or an animal). It also offers a waste management service to local authority and commercial customers, which together generated more than £13 million during 2021 through the management of 260,000 tonnes of waste.

Javier Peiro, managing director of Urbaser Ltd, said: “The collection and treatment of organic waste is a critical element of the United Kingdom’s overall waste management strategy.”

Urbaser, which has its global headquarters in Spain, is the third largest environmental services provider in Europe. It also has operations across Asia, North Africa and South America.

Waste management company Smiths buys family-run business

Gloucester demolition, transport and waste management firm Smiths has bought Ermin, a plant and equipment hire business based in Stonehouse, which has been operating since 1966.

The purchase, brokered by The Hire Exchange, includes all six of Ermin’s depots in Gloucester, Cheltenham, Worcester, Ross-on-Wye, Cirencester and Stroud.

Nigel Kelly, previous Managing Director and shareholder of Ermin, said: “While I’m sad to be leaving a company that myself and my family have been part of these past 56 years, I’m delighted it will continue its growth under the guidance of Smiths, a similar local family-run enterprise with the same ethos and values.”

Rebecca Pullin, the newly appointed director of Ermin Plant, added: “We are really excited about this acquisition and the opportunities that it will present. It compliments our existing business which is what attracted us to the deal, but it is also evident that the Ermin business model is one that has been successfully servicing the trade in the South West for more than 56 years.”

Smiths, which is also a family business, celebrates its 40th anniversary of trading this year.

Oxford and Bristol named in top 20 Euro Tech Hubs

Oxford and Bristol have been named as two of Europe’s top 20 tech hubs for investment in 2022 according to data by Dealroom for the UK’s Digital Economy Council – the only UK cities outside London.

This year, Oxford tech companies have so far raised £248 million in venture capital investment. Oxfordbased drug discovery company OMass Therapeutics raised £75.5 million (see across) in April, whilst Bristol-based medical device startup ONI Tumelo raised £60 million in January. This has placed the cities 20th and 19th respectively on the list of Europe’s top tech hubs, behind London which attracted a whopping £11.3 billion.

UK tech companies raised more venture capital funding in the first five months of 2022 than in the whole of 2020. This puts the UK second to the US globally when it comes to startup investment and means that UK startups are outperforming those in China, France and India when it comes to attracting funding, according to the Dealroom data.

The new figures demonstrate the strength and resilience of the UK startup sector. So far more than 950 UK tech start-ups and scale-ups have raised £12.4 billion in 2022, compared to £12 billion for the whole of 2020.

More than a third of the fastestgrowing tech companies in Europe are now based in the UK, which is also home to 122 unicorns, behind only the US and China for the creation of billion dollar tech companies, and first in Europe. Demand for talent in UK tech is stronger than ever, with 8.5 million vacancies in the last year. London also ranks second globally for tech salaries versus cost of living.