Alternatives manager Gresham House has pumped over £1m of investment into bio-bean – the world’s largest recycler of waste coffee grounds.
The investment represents 30% of the £4m funding round announced by bio-bean in April 2019.
Gresham House has used two renewable energy venture capital trust (VCT) vehicles to make the investment, which forms the final part of the funding round and values bio-bean at £7.6m.
The investment is split 50/50 between the two VCTs and comprises £800k of equity and £430k of debt.
UK-based bio-bean recycles used coffee grounds into efficient, sustainable products for both consumer and industrial applications.
This includes Coffee Logs, an eco product for wood burners and stoves that is quickly growing in consumer popularity and is stocked by several major UK retailers.
Through the investment, bio-bean is planning to expand its product range considerably into mainland Europe, working in co-ordination with various international partners.
“bio-bean has a unique proposition and hard asset backing, meaning it fits very well within our existing sustainable investment portfolio,” Bozkurt Aydinoglu, investment director at Gresham House and co-manager of the VCTs stated. “We look forward to seeing the fruits of the team’s labours as they build scale and diversify their product portfolio.”
An estimated 2.2 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day globally, generating 18 million tonnes of waste coffee grounds a year which releases harmful emissions including methane.
Last month, Stansted Airport became the first airport in the world to announce it would convert all its coffee waste to solid biofuels through a partnership with bio-bean.
