Quercus has market-leading credentials in the waste and recycling sector reflecting an enviable track record of completed deals in the sector and regular board level contact with all key players in the industry

The concept of the Circular Economy is to try to eliminate or minimise waste at all stages of the lifecycle of a product, thus creating a more sustainable, environmentally conscious alternative to the traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose). Whilst the awareness of the benefits of the Circular Economy continues to increase on the back of well publicised issues such as that of plastic pollution and climate change, the rate and scale of changes is heavily influenced by the broader economic and political environment.

The waste and recycling industry has been key in the development of the circular economy, driving change by offering sustainable alternatives to traditional landfill such as Energy from Waste and Anaerobic Digestion plants, together with improved segregation of waste streams either at source or through specialist processing facilities.

That said, the marriage between the industry and Government is not always a happy one with changes in previously announced policies (e.g. DRS, Simpler Recycling) making it difficult for waste companies to plan and focus their investment, adversely impacting recycling rates.

From an M&A perspective, the sector has seen massive change in the past five years with significant investment from financial investors. Waste is viewed as an essential service, so it was a natural progression to bring such investments into portfolio alongside water and power assets. Recently, the nature of these investments has evolved from infrastructure type investments (e.g. EfW and AD) to operating companies and has seen the likes of Biffa, Augean and Suez acquired by Infrastructure funds, and this is a trend we expect to continue.