Composting firm floated to raise £2m

A waste composting business set up by farmers in Herefordshire in 2001 floated on London’s Alternative Investment Market today (28 April) with hopes of raising up to £2m in new funding.

Directors at Bioganix, which processes food waste, local authority organic waste and agricultural by-products into nutrient-rich compost, hope the move will enable them to capitalise on a burgeoning industry.

The firm already has two plants up and running and has plans to open more across the UK.

Its first composting machine opened in Leominster five years ago to process poultry waste and now deals with 12,000t of mixed waste annually.

A 10-year deal signed with Suffolk County Council last year has spurred the construction of a new plant in Ipswich and trebled volumes.

With government targets to reduce biodegradable material going to landfill by 3m tonnes a year, the company believes there is clear potential for growth.

Bioganix belongs to farmer-owned business 7Y, which started life as a machinery ring, but has diversified into a contractor and
rural services business.

Over the past three years Bioganix has doubled turnover to £700,000 and turned operating losses into profit.

“As farming comes under further pressure, companies in the agricultural sector must look to opportunities for growth.

Bioganix shows that the future may not necessarily lie in agriculture itself, but in related activities with growth potential,” said chairman Francis Perkins.

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