Biffa
| Company type | Private limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Waste management |
| Founded | 1912 (Wembley) |
| Founder | Richard Henry Biffa |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Ian Wakelin (Chief Executive) |
| Revenue | £775.1 million[1] |
| £(127.5) million[1] | |
| Owner | Global Infrastructure Partners Montagu Private Equity |
| Website | www |
Biffa Group Limited is a waste management company headquartered in High Wycombe, United Kingdom. It provides collection, landfill, recycling and special waste services to local authorities and industrial and commercial clients in the UK. As of 2012 it is the second-largest UK-based waste management company.[1]
History
The business was founded in Wembley by Richard Henry Biffa in 1912. The company, then called Richard Biffa Limited, was engaged in the removal and sale of ashes and clinker from London power stations, later adding sand & gravel and waste disposal to its operations. In 1958 Richard Henry Biffa's 19-year-old grandson, Richard Charles Biffa joined as a general trainee with duties including tea boy, yard boy, fitter's mate, driver's mate and routing clerk. From 1960-1963 he took over responsibility for plant operations and maintenance and was made Manager in 1963. He spent the rest of the decade building the company, now called Biffa Waste Services, by acquisition and organic growth and consolidated the company's position the waste management market. He is also widely credited with introducing the now ubiquitous waste skip to the UK, making Biffa a household name.
In 1971 the company was acquired by British Electric Traction. The Biffa family retained much of the company's freehold premises including the then headquarters in High Wycombe. Richard Charles Biffa became Director and Manager of the Waste Division, General Manager of Biffa Limited in 1974, Managing Director in 1975 and Chairman in 1979.
By the 1980s, Biffa was one of the UK's largest and most successful waste disposal companies. In May 1988 the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange with a value of £52 million.
BET sold the company to Severn Trent plc in 1991.,[2] The company continued to grow from 1991. Biffa was demerged from Severn Trent plc on 9 October 2006 giving Biffa an initial market capitalisation of £932.4m and a turnover of £712.3million in 2005/6.[3] Biffa made good profits in the first year after flotation.[4]
The company was taken private again in April 2008 by WasteAcquisitionco, a consortium of three private equity and investment companies. The deal valued Biffa at around £1.2 billion.[5]
In August 2012 it was announced that Chinook Urban Mining, part of the New Jersey-based Chinook Sciences group, had entered a joint £520 million cash offer for Biffa in partnership with private equity firms including Clearbrook Capital. [6]
Operations
Biffa provides collection, landfill, recycling and special waste services to local authorities and industrial and commercial clients in the UK. In July 2014 it extended its services to the retail sector by converting waste for Sainsbury's, enabling the chain to take one of its stores off the National Grid.[7]
Biffa collects around four million tonnes of waste per annum from around one million households and 75,000 industrial and commercial customers.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Consortium plans £520m bid for Biffa". The Guardian. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ Severn Trent History
- ^ Caledonian Economics (2006) Financial Review of the Wastet Management Industry, October 2006
- ^ Biffa profits rise in first set of independent results, www.letsrecycle.com. Retrieved 6.12.06
- ^ "Biffa's recommended takeover by WasteAcquisitionco approved by shareholders". AFX News. Forbes. 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ “US gasification firm makes consortium bid for Biffa” letsrecycle.com August, 2012
- ^ "Sainsbury's store to be powered solely by food waste". Big News Network.com. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Banks seize Biffa over £1bn+ debts". London Evening Standard. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.