The U.K.-based waste management firm Biffa has reached an agreement to acquire Cory Environmental Municipal Services Ltd., (CEMS) the municipal, industrial and commercial business of Cory Environmental Group, based in London, for £13.5 million (US$19.33 million).

In the municipal sector, Biffa will take on four major Local Authority contracts to provide waste and recycling collection services in Cornwall, Lincoln, Rutland and Tunbridge Wells. The Cornwall contract covers street and beach cleaning as well as household waste and recycling services.

In the industrial and commercial sector, Biffa will take over the provision of commercial waste collection and recycling services to an anticipated customer base of about 7,000. Services will include compaction, exchange, confidential waste collection and other related specialist services.

“This is an important acquisition for us. We believe that it will significantly strengthen our positions in the UK I&C; (industrial and commercial) and municipal market segments, in which we already hold the number one and number two positions, respectively,” says Ian Wakelin, Biffa’s CEO.

In a statement following the sale, Cory’s management noted that the sale of the assets follows a strategic review by its board, which concluded that the CEMS business was no longer a core part of its business and that the long-term future of division would best be secured under new ownership.

Nicholas Pollard, Cory’s Group CEO, notes, “This transaction follows directly from our strategic review. It will simplify our group structure, enabling us to invest substantially and develop our core business of providing and operating infrastructure for waste management, materials recycling, waste disposal and energy generation – in particular at our Riverside (UK) facility, one of the U.K.’s largest, cleanest and most efficient energy-from-waste plants. Biffa are a natural owner for CEMS and we wish the business every success for the future."