SIMON Howie, the Perthshire entrepreneur, has launched a scathing attack on venture capitalists after selling the recycling firm he co-owned to industry giant Pennon for £23 million.
Howie, whose core business is wholesale butchery, servicing some of the leading hotels and restaurants in Scotland, said a deal had been on the table last year to expand Perth-based Shore Recycling.
However, the agreement with an unnamed venture c
apital firm had fallen through as the would-be investor got "cold feet at the last minute".
Howie, 41, below right, accused the VC of being "extremely risk-averse" and displaying "little foresight or business acumen". He said yesterday that doing a deal with a trade buyer had been "doubly sweet" as a result.
Companies House records show Shore had been owned by a holding company called Ledge 806, of which Howie was the majority shareholder.
His 75 per cent holding values his share of the cash payment at just over £17m.
Ledge's two other investors – Malcolm Todd and Tom Liddell, both directors of Shore – are to remain with the recycling business. The pair, who will make almost £3m each from the takeover, were involved in a management buy-in deal at Shore in 2004.
Howie launched the company six years ago after legislation banning fridges from being taken to landfill sites presented a potential business opportunity. The firm secured contracts with a number of Scottish councils and now recycles hundreds of thousands of fridges and PC monitors every year.
Shore, which employs about 135 people, also has processing facilities in Manchester and St Helens.
"This is a very positive move for the business," Howie told The Scotsman. "It has been a very friendly transaction. On a personal note, it is pleasing for me to see that the company is moving into the hands of people who are actually going to take it forward."
Shore will become part of Viridor, the waste management arm of London-listed Pennon, owner of South West Water. Pennon said the UK government's recent implementation of the European Union's waste electrical and electronic equipment (Weee) directive meant this area of recycling was expected to grow rapidly.
Viridor chief executive Colin Drummond described Shore as "a very good business and a good geographic fit" with Pennon's waste management division.
Hinting at further deals north of the Border, he added: "Scotland is a very significant market for us and we would clearly be interested in doing more business there."
Viridor operates 25 regional landfill sites, a number of regional recycling facilities and 189 waste processing sites. The firm is behind controversial plans for an "energy from waste" processing plant near Dunbar in East Lothian.
Howie's award-winning food business also supplies meat products to major supermarket chains including Sainsbury's and Waitrose. His other business interests include Wetwall Panelling and recently acquired Norske Interiors.
The full article contains 487 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
