Birkenhead entrepreneur buys back drainage company, using £3m funding package from BFS
Independent working capital provider, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), has supported major drainage services company NRC Waste Water Solutions (NRC WWS) with a £3m asset based lending (ABL) package comprised of asset finance and invoice finance. The funding facility will enable its North West based founder to buy back the business he previously sold in 2018, and excel its growth ambitions in the UK.
The Birkenhead-based business was established twenty years ago by managing director Gary McDermott, and provides industrial drainage services to blue chip clients across sectors including civil engineering, local authority, government agencies and construction.
To facilitate the transaction, the business was introduced to BFS’s Corporate team by Benjamin Day at Cowgills, a North West-based accountancy and deal advisory firm with a long-standing relationship with NRC WWS.
BFS’s deal-team – led by Alex Macdonald and Ellen McEvoy, with support of Rebekah Middleton in Bibby Leasing – provided a funding facility worth £3m. Collaboration and speed of response between the divisions of BFS and Bibby Leasing was key to successfully structuring the £3m ABL package, comprising of a £2m asset finance line and a £1m invoice discounting facility.
Gary McDermott, managing director at NRC WWS said:”Buying back the business I founded two decades ago was an offer I couldn’t turn down. I’m so proud of our team here at NRC WWS, and could not be more excited to continue expanding our services, sectors and workforce to serve our growing client base.”
In 2003, Gary started his business, originally known as Clean Line UK LTD, with just two trucks, one van and seven employees. The company grew exponentially to a highly skilled workforce of over 120 people, and was bought by US based business NRC LTD in 2018. Four years later, in 2022, McDermott was presented with the opportunity to buy his original business back.
McDermott continued: “The funding package provided by BFS was critical to make this happen – they went above and beyond to match my requirements, and I’ve no doubt they will continue to support our growth ambitions in the years to come.”
A key part of the transaction was BFS’s ability to move fast to deliver a competitive package, which was turned around within six weeks to secure the acquisition. Gary also had previous experience working with BFS, and knew them to be a trusted and collaborative partner. BFS were advised throughout the transaction by Bermans, with their team being led by asset based lending specialists Dave Gledhill and Alissa Marsh.
Benjamin Day, director at Cowgills commented: “NRC WWS is a longstanding UK business that has been extremely successful in its twenty years of operation. A chance to bring this business back to its founding location is something we were proud to be a part of, particularly in the difficult economic landscape we are seeing today. BFS pulled out all the stops to offer a funding line to fit NRC’s needs, and its speed and flexibility in particular were impressive. We’re delighted to have facilitated a partnership that is supporting a UK business to thrive.”
Alex Macdonald, corporate manager at BFS added: “NRC WWS represents the heart of what we do here at BFS – it is a proud independent business that has grown impressively through years of nurture and hard work. This deal has been a fantastic effort across BFS that demonstrates our ability to support businesses with both invoice finance and asset finance to support a range of transactions. We’re delighted to support NRC WWS in bringing operations back to the North of England, and are excited to be involved in the next stage of its journey.”
