“Currently, we have a strong focus on the US market where brand interest, volumes of scale and supportive composting infrastructure are already in place.”
UK-headquartered Biome Bioplastics is set to receive a funding boost because its parent company Biome Technologies has announced that it has conditionally raised £1.3 million in a share placing.
In a statement, Biome Technologies said it will use the cash to help fund Biome Bioplastics’ growth and development.
Biome Bioplastics develops and manufacturers bioplastic compounds, using bio-based/biodegradable polymers, natural materials and other additives. Its parent company made the announcement of the investment as it released its half-year 2019 financial results. It said that revenues in Biome Bioplastics had grown from £0.9 million in the first half of 2018 to £1.4 million for the first half of 2019.
The company said its growth in revenues for the first half of 2019 has been helped by a boost in the US market, strong demand for its existing products and the commercialisation of its new three products. These products include a new material for disposable cutlery, a new material for the structure of a coffee pod used in the US coffee market that is heat stable, and a new material for a single serve nutrition pod being manufactured in Switzerland and launched in the US market.
According to Biome Technologies, it is anticipated that revenues for these products “will increase over the coming quarters as they scale up in line with customers’ demands”.
Biome Technologies said it conditionally raised the £1.3 million by way of a placing of 433,337 new ordinary shares in the company at a price of 300 pence per share. It did this via the AIM market on the London Stock Exchange.
The company said that these funds will be used for extra resources and to support a number of projects that are planned to scale-up over the next 18 months, as manufacturing is increased in both Europe and the US.
The funding will also help to deliver high levels of sales activities and further accelerate the company’s research and development in industrial biotechnology, which is focused on the scaling and commercialisation of the next generation of sustainable polymers.
To help capitalise on the new funding and achieve future growth targets, Biome Bioplastics has appointed Sally Morley as its new managing director. Prior to being promoted the role of managing director, Morley worked as the company’s commercial director.
The company said that her new appointment will help to strengthen the Biome Bioplastics’ leadership team and enable other organisational changes, as the business supports heightened levels of activity in both manufacturing and development.
Morley said: “The continued spotlight on plastics is causing consumers, brands and converters to take a fundamental look at the plastics they use, why they use them and how they can be disposed of at end of life.
“With growing interest in our bioplastic materials, these additional funds will enable our business to accelerate multiple projects to deliver on ambitious revenue growth targets, as well as invest in the research and development of the next generation of high-performance products.
“Currently, we have a strong focus on the US market where brand interest, volumes of scale and supportive composting infrastructure are already in place. In fact, we have a pipeline of approximately 15 key development projects with customers that range from mid-sized companies to multi-nationals.”
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