Catapult exits Whelan Refining
BIRMINGHAM-based Catapult Venture Managers and Bridges Ventures have sold their stake in Stoke-on-Trent’s Whelan Refining to the company’s management team for an undisclosed sum.
Catapult and London-based Bridges first invested in Whelan in 2006 to fund the refurbishment and re-commissioning of a redundant oil refinery in Stoke.
The plant was re-engineered to the highest technical and environmental standards to become the first and only waste oil refining plant in the UK – recycling waste oil to produce base oil which is sold back to the lubricant industry.
The exit provides a return of 4.7 times the total investment for Catapult’s Advantage Enterprise & Innovation Fund. Launched in 2005, AEIF provides growth capital to innovative West Midlands-based businesses.
Duncan Cameron, director at Catapult, said: “We are delighted both with the financial return for our fund and the positive environmental impact that Whelan continues to make.
“Since we invested in 2006 the business has made great progress and we have enjoyed working with John Whelan and his management team in executing their vision for Whelan.”
Whelan, said “The investment helped me to realise my vision to establish a successful business measured by environmental impact and job creation as well as financial performance. Catapult has been a supportive investor and I have always appreciated their straight-forward approach to business.”
